A 


MAY  27  1919 


Division   -By8vi\ 

Section         .F*?S 


i      MAY  27  1919 
THE  V%0,„  ..v^ 


MENNONITE  CHURCH 


AND 


HER  ACCUSERS. 


A  VINDICATION   OF   THE   CHARACTER   OF   THE   MENNONITE 
CHURCH   OF    AMERICA    FROM    HER    FIRST    OR- 
GANIZATION IN  THIS  COUNTRY  TO 
THE  PRESENT  TIME. 


BY 

JOHN    F.  I^UNK. 


ELKHART,    IJSTDIAINA, 
MENNONITE  PUBLISHING  COMPANY, 

1878. 


Digitized  by  tine  Internet  Arciiive 

in  2009  witii  funding  from 

Princeton  Tineological  Seminary  Library 


littp://www.arcliive.org/details/mennonitecliurclihOOfunk 


PREFACE. 


"  For  Zion's  sake  will  I  uot  hold  my  peace,  and  for  Jerusalem's 
sake  will  I  not  rest,  until  the  righteousness  thereof  go  forth  as 
brightness,  and  the  salvation  thereof  as  a  lamp  that  burneth,  and  the 
Gentiles  shall  see  thy  righteousness,  and  all  Kings  thy  glory." 
Isa.  62:  1. 

For  the  sake  of  truth,  for  the  sake  of  the  church,  and  the  many 
faithful  witnesses  which,  in  times  past,  have  so  earnestly  contended 
"for  the  faith  once  delivered  to  the  saints,"  the  following  work  has 
been  written.  - 

The  writer  undertook  this  work  with  reluctance.  He  sincerely 
regrets  that  the  necessity  of  this  vindication  ever  existed;  he  would 
much  rather  have  devoted  his  energies  to  a  more  pleasant  task,  but 
for  the  sake  of  the  truth  and  the  Church  it  would  have  been,  in  his 
estimation,  a  most  serious  neglect  of  duty,  to  allow  such  an  unwar- 
ranted and  untruthful  misrepresentation  of  facts  and  doctrine  to  pass 
by  unnoticed. 

If  our  friends  of  the  so  called  "Reformed  Mennonite  Church"  did 
these  things  ignorantly.  Christian  charity  demands  that  we  should 
show  them  their  errors.  Should  they  have  done  them  willfully  and 
with  design  (which  we  hope  is  not  the  case),  then  again  it  would 
be  in  the  highest  degree,  our  duty  to  reprove  and  warn  them  of 
their  uncharitable  and  unjust  actions. 

Though  the  writer  in  the  following  pages  uses,  oftentimes,  what 
may  be  considered  by  some,  as  harsh  and  severe  language,  he  was 
not  actuated  by  any  feelings  of  animosity  or  ill-will  He  is  free  to 
confess  that  even  while  writing  his  sharpest  reproofs,  his  heart  was 
moved  with  mingled  feelings  of  kindness  and   pity  for   those  who 


IV  PREFACE. 

under  the  garb  of  religion  could  venture  on  the  assertions,  charges 
and  condemnations  presented  in  Daniel  Musser's  "Reformed  Menno- 
nite  Church",  and  it  is  the  sincere  prayer  of  the  writer,  that  God, 
who  giveth  "liberally"  to  all  men,  "and  upbraideth  not,"  may  bestow 
upon  them  the  spirit  of  wisdom  and  understanding,  that  they  may 
see  their  delusion,  and  in  the  true  spirit  of  Christian  love,  self  abase- 
ment and  charity,  turn  to  God,  pulling  out  first  the  beam  from  their 
own  eyes,  that  they  may  be  able  to  see  more  clearly  to  pull  out  the 
mote  from  the  brother's  eye. 

The  writer  sincerely  prays  to  God  to  lead  them  into  a  better 
way,  and  if  in  anything  that  he  has  written  he  has  erred  and  done 
injustice  to  any  one,  he  asks  God  to  lead  him  to  see  it  and  forgive 
him. 

The  writer  also  trusts  that  this  little  work  may  be  the  means  of 
inspiring  many  with  a  firmer  devotion  and  a  warmer  love  to  God  and 
the  church,  while,  at  the  same  time  it  may  prove  a  warning  voice  to 
many  who  are  lukewarm  in  the  cause  of  Christ,  in  showing  them  to 
what  men  may  come,  when  they  allow  themselves  to  be  led  by  selfish 
motives  and  human  traditions  to  establish  a  righteousness  of  their 
own. 

Elkhart,  Ind.,  Nov.  \st,  1878.  The  Author. 

Note  1  A  large  portion  of  the  matter  contained  in  this  work, 
was  originally  presented  to  the  public  in  a  series  of  articles  published 
in  the  "Herald  of  Truth,"  and  is  now  revised  and  with  some  addi- 
tions and  a  few  corrections  published  in  its  present  form. 

KoTE  2.  It  is  only  a  matter  of  justice  to  remark  here,  that  in  the 
collecting  of  the  material  for  this  work,  and  also  in  the  preparation  of 
the  matter,  the  Author  has  been  assisted  to  a  large  extent  by  Bro. 
Amos  Herr,  of  Lime  Valley,  Lancaster  County,  Pa. 


CHAPTER  I. 

CLAIMS    AND    ACCUSATIONS  OF  DANIEL  MUSSEE  AND  JOHN    HERE, 
WITH  EXTRACTS    FEOM  THEIR   WRITINGS. 

In  the  year  187:3  a  book,  written  by  Daniel  Musser,  of  Lan- 
caster County,  Pa.,  a  bishop  of  the  Mefonned  Mennonite 
Church,  was  published,  of  which  we  secured  a  copy  and  spent 
some  time  in  its  examination.  The  contents  of  the  book  struck 
us  so  strangely  that  for  a  long  time  we  kept  thinking  over  the 
matter  whether  we  should  undertake  to  expose  its  inaccuracies 
and  ill-timed  judgments,  or  whether  we  should  pass  it  by  in  si- 
lent contempt.  Some  of  our  friends  thought  that  such  inaccu- 
racies should  not  be  passed  over  in  silence,  but  a  want  of  time 
and  many  other  duties  pressing  urgently  upon  us,  we  deferred 
the  matter  until  during  the  Smnraer  of  1876,  when  we  again  took 
up  the  book,  and  in  our  reading  of  the  same,  we  felt  that  in 
justice  to  the  cause  of  Christ  and  his  church  we  could  not  con- 
scientiously remain  silent. 

The  Reformed  Mennonites  are  a  sect  which  took  their  rise 
about  the  year  1812.  John  Herr  was  their  first  pastor.  On 
many  points  they  hold  the  same  views  as  the  Old  Mennonites, 
but  in  other  respects  they  hold  most  singular  and  unscriptural 
doctrines,  as  we  shall  show  in  the  course  of  this  work.  They 
claim  that  there  is  only  one  true.  Christian  church  in  the  world, 
and  that  they  comprise  that  church.  They  utterly  condemn  all 
who  do  not  unite  with  them,  as  Babel  and  in  error ;  they  refuse 
to  hear  any  ministers,  except  those  of  their  own  church,  and  are 
very  strict  in  shunning  those  who  are  expelled  from  their  com- 
munion, and  extremely  rigid  in  the  observance  of  all  outward 


THE    MENNONITE    CHURCH 


forms  and  customs.  They  also  claim  that  there  was  no  church 
of  God,  no  children  of  God,  no  forgiveness  of  sins,  and  no 
one  that  possessed  or  could  receive  the  Holy  Spirit  before 
Christ  was  crucified. 

We  do  not  wish  to  be  understood  that  we  make  any  objec- 
tions against  those  who  are  strict  in  the  observance  of  outward 
rites;  we  commend  them,  so  far  as  the  teachings  and  command- 
ments of  Jesus  Christ  require  of  us.  We  lionor  and  love  a  man 
all  the  more  when  he  adheres  strictly  to  the  requirements  of 
the  Bible,  and  is  faithful  in  the  discharge  of  the  duties  of  his 
profession,  but  there  is  a  difference  between  closely  following 
in  the  footsteps  of  Jesus  and  observing  his  commands,  and  be- 
ing strict  in  observing  self-made  laws,  and  the  unscriptural  tra- 
ditions of  men. 

The  writer  of  the  book  referred  to,  claims  that  the  Menno- 
nites  were  once  a  pure  church.  In  the  days  of  Menno,  God 
was  with  the  church  and  his  blessing  was  upon  her;  that  they 
were  the  true  and  living  church  of  God,  and  that  they  remained 
measurably  pure  until  about  the  close  of  the  seventeenth  cent- 
ury. As  soon  as  the  bloody  persecutions,  to  which  they  had 
for  so  long  a  time  been  subjected,  began  to  subside,  and  the 
Mennonites  in  common  with  other  denominations,  were  permit- 
ted to  enjoy  religious  freedom,  they  began  to  forget  God,  de- 
parted from  his  pure  doctrines  and  the  purity  of  their  long  and 
well  maintained  teachings,  and  gradually  became  corrupt — be- 
came very  corrupt. 

He  claims  that  very  probably,  they  wei-e  already,  to  some 
extent,  corrupted  when  they  first  arrived  in  this  country  in  the 
year  1683.  And  that  from  this  time  forward  they  made  rapid 
progress  to  a  complete  corruption,  and  at  the  close  of  the  18th 
century  they  were  a  dead  and  impure  church,  without  life, 
without  righteousness,  without  truth,  without  the  favor  of  God, 
and  without  any  hope  of  future  happiness;  a  church  so  com- 
pletely lost  to  the  favor  of  God  that  it  was  unworthy  the  name 
of  a  Christian  cliurch;  forsaken  of  God,  despised  of  men  and 
without  any  of  the  qualifications  which  God  demands  of  his 
church.     Let  us  listen  to  his  own  words. 


AND    HEE    ACCUSERS. 


On  pages  233  .and  234  of  his  work  Daniel  Musscr  says  : 
"Nothing  so  much  provokes  tlie  enmity  of  the  world,  as  to 
testify  of  her  works,  that  they  are  evil.  This  provoked  the 
Jews  to  such  a  bitter  hatred  of  the  Savior,  who  had  done  so 
much  good  before  their  eyes,  and  never  done  anything  but  good; 
but  for  this  simple  reason  they  hated  him  unto  death.  Even  he 
had  to  be  tempted  through  one  of  his  deai-  disciples,  to  be  more 
sparing  in  his  denunciations,  and  he  would  escape  their  per- 
secutions. (Matt,  16.)  (The  German  version  renders  the  ap- 
proach of  Peter  more  plain,  than  the  English.)  When  this  spirit 
gains  ascendency,  it  will  lead  to  silence  on  those  points  which 
are  offensive  to  the  world;  and  finally  to  the  countenance,  en- 
couragement and  support  of  such  ideas  and  things  as  will 
please  the  world,  and  elicit  its  admiration  and  applause.  In 
this  way,  the  enemy,  in  times  of  peace  and  prosperity,  insinu- 
ates himself,  and  finally,  darkness  overtakes  the  soul,  and  walk- 
ing in  darkness  they  know  not  whither  they  go.  Thus  it 
seems  to  have  gone  loith  this  glorious  Mennonite  church,  * 
which  God  had  so  highly  glorified  and  adorned  with  the  divine 
virtues,  and  so  abundantly  ministered  unto  her  an  entrance  into 
the  everlasting  kingdom  of  our  Lord  and  Savior,  Jesus  Christ. 
This  glory  Satan,  with  all  his  persecutions,  imprisonments, 
torturings,  fire,  sword  and  rack,  could  not  dim  the  lustre  of. 
But  by  the  enticing  charms  of  the  world,  she  was  finally 
induced,  like  Samson,  to  lay  her  head  in  the  hip  of  t/iis 
enchantitig  Delilah. 

On  pages  236,  237,  239,  240,  after  referring  to  the  question, 
whether  the  Mennonites  were  still  in  the  true  faith  and  prac- 
tice when  they  came  to  this  country  in-  1683,  or  not,  he  further 
says,  "But  whether  they  weie  in  the  true  faith  or  not  when  they 
first  came  to  this  country,  it  is  well  known  to  tliose  who  are  ac- 
quainted with  the  doctrines  of  Menno,  and  are  at  all  conversant 
with  the  history  and  afi^airs  of  the  Mennonites  of  this  country, 
that  they  had  very  widely  departed  from  the  faith  and   jiractice 


*  The  italic  through   the  following  pages  are    put  in    by    way 
of  distinction  by  the  author  of  this  work. 


THE   MENNONITE    CHURCH 


of  Menno  and  his  brethren,  long  before  the  close  of  the  eigh 
teenth  century.     This  many  of  their  oion  members  freely 
acknowledged  in  the  early  jyart  of  the  present  century. 
Whether  they  wottld  do  so  nov)  or  not  I  do  not  knoio. 

"The  work  on  which  we  are  engaged,  makes  it  necessary 
to  speak  of  this  Old  Mennonite  Church,  in  a  way  which  we 
would  very  willingly  forbear  to  do,  did  not  necessity  require  it 
of  us.  We  hold  that  Christ  established  but  one  church,  and 
that  he  can  have  but  one.  Adam  had  but  one  Eve,  and  Abra- 
ham but  one  Sarah.  God  had  but  one  Israel,  which  had  but 
one  Jerusalem  and  one  temple.  So  Christ  has  but  one  spouse, 
and  we  nowhere  find  any  figui^e  representing  more  than  one 
united  church;  and  if  the  church  is  the  body  of  Christ,  there 
can  be  no  schism  in  it;  for  a  kingdom  divided  against  itself 
cometh  to  naught,  and  a  house  divided  against  itself  cannot 
stand. 

"The  apostles  built  that  church  in  the  beginning,  accord- 
ing to  the  command  of  Christ,  as  a  house  or  home  for  his 
children  to  dwell  in.  Had  it  been  built  or  established  differ- 
ently from  his  command,  it  would  not  have  been  his  church, 
but  a  human  institution,  as  all  other  organizations  of  man  are. 
The  Holy  Spirit,  which  this  organization  possessed  was  what 
made  it  the  church  or  spouse  of  Christ.  Wheresoever  this 
Spirit  has  His  abode,  there  was  the  church  of  Christ;  but  he 
could  not  dwell  in  an  unclean^  sinful^  and  disobedient 
body.  When  our  natural  body  dies,  ihe  Spirit  does  not  die;  it 
remains  the  same  as  it  was  before,  but  the  body  is  dead  because 
the  spirit  has  departed  from  it.  Thus  the  Holy  Spirit  is  what 
gives  life  to  the  church,  and  wherever  the  Holy  Spirit  is,  there 
is  the  church,  and  that  is  God's  house  and  the  home  of  his 
children.  When  that  organization,  which  was  a  continuation 
of  what  the  apostles  had  formed,  became  unbelieving  and  dis. 
obedient,  the  Holy  Spirit  no  more  dwelt  with  it,  and  it  became 
a  dead  body,  nothing  different  from  any  other  human  organi- 
zation, however  long  it  might  have  continued  in  existence. 
But  the  church  of  God  was  not  extinct.  Wlieresoever  two  or 
three  were  met  together,  in  the  name  of  Christ,  there  he  was 


AlfD    HER   ACCUSERS. 


in  the  midst  of  them  by  his  Spirit ;  and  here  was  the  church 
of  God;  and  these  were  united,  and  one  with  all  others  in  the 
world;  for  they  were  by  the  Spirit,  which  they  possessed,  bap- 
tized into  one  body  and  were  made  one  heart  and  one  soul. 
Thus  though  this  particular  organization  lost  the  spirit 
and  life  which  made  it  a  churchy  the  church  was  not 
extinguished,  or  lost.  Though  this  organization  continued 
many  centuries^  it  lost  every  mark,  evidence  or  character 
of  its  original,  divine  nature.  However,  many  such  organ- 
izations took  place  in  different  parts  and  ages  of  the  world,  so 
long  as  they  were  true  and  faithful  believers,  the  life-giving 
Spirit  abode  with  them;  but  when  they  would  become  unbe- 
lieving and  disobedient,  the  Spirit  would  forsake  that  body, 
and  however  long  the  organization  and  form  of  worship  might 
be  kept  up,  it  would  nevertheless  be  but  a  spiritless,  dead 
body. 

"In  this  light  we  look  upon  the  'Old  Mennonite  Church.' 
We  believe  it  was  once  the  church  of  Christ,  possessed  of  the 
Holy,  life-giving  Spirit,  and  so  continued  for  many  years;  but 
as  it  had  gone  with  the  Roman  church,  (which  was  the  contin- 
uation of  the  first  organization),  it  became  unbelieving,  diso- 
bedient, lost  the  Spirit,  and  with  this  the  marks  or  evidence  of 
the  Divine  nature.  As  such  it  had  come  down  to  the  peo- 
ple of  our  country  at  the  close  of  the  eighteenth,  and  the 
beginning  of  the  present  century. 

"The  originators  of  the  organization  known  as  the  'Re- 
formed Mennonite  Church'  held,  that  Men  no  Simon  and  his 
brethren  of  his  day,  held  sound  and  orthodox  doctrine;  and 
that  the  church  which  bore  his  name,  at  that  time  was  the 
pure,  true,  and  united  church  of  Christ.  To  justify  the  course 
they  took  in  forming  a  new  organization,  it  became  their  duty 
at  the  time,  to  show  that  the  Mennonite  cj\urch  of  their  day, 
whose  organization  had  descended  from  this  recognized 
church,  had  become  apostate,  or  a  spiritless,  dead  body. 
This  they  freely  did  at  the  time,  whioh  brought  them 
much  enmity  from,  many  sources. 
2 


10  THE   MBNNOUITE    CHTTKCH 

"From  all  the  evidence  I  can  gather,  I  believe  they  were 
right  in  their  judgment.  They  looked  upon  the  members 
of  this  church  as  u7iconverted,  carnal  people  of  the  loorld, 
as  all  non-professors  are.  We  propose  to  show  this  from 
evidence  which  I  have  never  heard  contradicted^  nor 
do  I  believe  it  can  be.  We  will  give  traditional  evi- 
dence of  persons  who  lived  amongst  them,  and  sato  and 
Tcneio  what  they  related;  then  written  evidence,  of  persons  of 
unquestionable  character  for  truth;  and  lastly,  my  own  obser- 
vation of  what  I  seen,  heard  and  know. 

"From  such  persons  as  *vere  friendly  to  the  church,  I 
learned  in  my  early  youth,  that  at  the  time  alluded  to,  viz:  the 
latter  part  of  the  last,  and  the  beginning  of  the  present  century, 
the  members  of  the  church  were,  in  regard  to  inward  or  spir. 
itual  life,  as  ignorant,  cold,  a?id  dead  as  any  carnal, 
unconverted  person  could  be.  It  was  the  custom  generally, 
that  when  their  children  would  grow  up  to  years  of  maturity, 
they  were  baptized,  and  received  into  the  Church;  that  their 
preachers  or  teachers  were  altogether  inexperienced,  and 
ignorant  in  spiritual  matters;  and,  as  a  consequence,  their 
preparatory  instruction,  and  examination,  was  a  mere  matter  of 
form.  *  *  *  They  had  neither  the  knowledge  of  sin,  or 
righteousness.  Their  parents  belonged  to  the  church  and 
they  were  told  that  they  should  also  be  joined  to  it.  There 
was  nothing  in  the  step  which  forbade  the  enjoyment  of 
what  the  flesh  could  have  life  and  gratification  in,  and 
they  generally  agreed  to  the  proposition  of  their  parents.  The 
natural  result  of  such  a  course,  was  a  carnal,  cold  and  senseless 
religion.  'Yh.o.  p>ublic  service  was  generally  cold  and  form- 
al, and  p7-ivate  religious  exercises  ivas  something  almost 
unknown.  They  had  their  amusements  and  pastimes  in  rustic 
sports  and  plays,  telling  stories,  jesting  and  making  fun  gen- 
erally. They  were  generally  what  the  world  accounts  moral, 
industrious,  frugal  and  honest.  But  as  there  are  always  dispo- 
sitions which  tend  to  extravagance  in  conduct  and  behavior, 
there  were  not  wanting  many  instances,   where   the  conduct 


AND    HER    ACCUSBKS.  11 


rather  exceeded  the  bounds  of  propriety;  but  thera  were  so 
many  precedents  where  these  were  passed  over  without  notice, 
that  they  had  to  be  very  flagrant,  if  any  notice  was 
taken  of  them  by  the  church  authorities;  and  if  notice  was 
taken  of  them,  it  was  often  in  a  mere  formal  manner,  which 
excited  more  meri'iment  and  sport  in  the  church,  than  grief 
and  sorrow.  At  that  time  spirituous  liquor  was  more  freely 
used  in  all  families  than  at  present;  and  inebriation  was  a 
thing  not  at  all  uncommon,  and  had  to  be  very  aggravated  if 
any  notice  was  taken  of  it.  Cases  were  related  to  me,  where  mem- 
bers got  outrageously  disorderly  and  no  notice  was  taken  of  it. 

"  It  was  a  very  customary  thing,  at  the  time  we  refer  to, 
for  the  younger  members  to  meet  tegether  on  Sunday  after- 
noon, from  church  service,  and  spend  the  afternoon  in  such 
sports  as  wrestling,  jumping,  running  foot-races,  playing  ball, 
or  whatever  sports  and  games  of  the  kind  were  in  vogue  at 
the  time.  The  older  members,  with  preachers,  would  look 
on  as  spectators,  and  had  for  a  proverb.  Honorable  sports  or 
diversions  no  one  can  forbid.  At  their  marriages,  feasting, 
drinking,  and  noisy  mirth  were  carried  to  great  extremes. 

"  At  that  time  the  old-fashioned  fairs  were  annually  held 
at  all  the  tovns  of  any  size,  even  down  to  small  villages.  At 
Lancaster,  the  gatherings  were  usually  very  large.  Numbers 
of  the  members  of  the  church  attended  also.  There  was,  as 
may  well  be  supposed,  all  kinds  of  wickedness  and  ungodly 
deeds  practiced  here.  I  have  no  information  how  far  the  mem- 
bers of  the  church  took  part  in  these  acts  of  wickedness,  but 
by  their  presence  they  showed  them  such  countenance  as 
tended  to  uphold  and  support  them.  The  old  portion  of  the 
community  usually  attended  the  second  day,  when  many  of 
the  elderly  members  also  attended  It  was  the  custom  of  these 
old  men  to  have  their  bottle  of  wine,  round  which  they  would 
sit,  and  often  become  partially  intoxicated,  and  sometimes 
considerably  more  than  partially.  At  this  time  nearly  all 
attended  elections,  and  many  of  them  participated  very  act- 
ively in  electioneering,  to  further  the  chances  of  their  favorite 


12  THE    MENNONITE    CHURCH. 

candidate.  This  I  have  myself  seen,  and  heard  one  say  openly, 
that  he  had  on  one  occasion  voted  twice  at  the  same  election. 
These  things  were  not  of  accidental  or  private  occurrence. 
They  were  common,  open  and  known  to  the  world;  and  well 
known  to  the  church  also,  and  even  some  of  their  jyreachers 
were  not  free  from  the  charge." 

On  pages  240  and  241  we  find  further  the  following: 
"  John  Herr,  in  his  writings,  from  which  I  propose  to  make 
some  extracts,  makes  some  allusion  to  these  things.  I  have 
heard  that  some  of  the  younger  members  of  the  church  say, 
they  know  nothing  of  such  things,  and  assert  that  they  are  not 
true.  It  may  be  they  do  know  nothing  of  it;  but  they  have 
members  of  their  church  who  do  know  better,  and  if  they 
would,  could  testify  to  their  truth;  and  the  day  is  coming 
which  will  reveal  it.  When  John  Herr  and  his  co-workers 
commenced  laboring  to  build  up  a  church,  the  'Old  Menno- 
nites'  generally,  charged  them  with  motives  of  enmity  and  self- 
ishness, which  prompted  them  to  the  course  they  took.  This 
charge  is  now  still  reiterated,  and  the  generation  which  has 
knowledge  of  the  things  referred  to  is  fast  passing  away,  and 
in  a  few  generations  more,  or  only  a  few  short  years,  none  will 
be  left,  who  from  actual  knowledge,  can  attest  to  the  truth 
of  what  he  wrote.  From  my  own  knowledge  and  observations, 
I  know  that  such  things  as  he  writes  are  true.  In  saying  this, 
I  know  to  whom  I  must  give  account,  and  it  is  to  Him  I  appeal 
for  its  truth.  I  am  sorry  Herr  was  under  the  necessity  of  say- 
ing it,  and  still  more  deeply  grieved,  that  the  necessity  exists 
for  our  re-asserting  it.  Much,  yea,  very  much,  rather  would 
I  have  left  these  things  to  oblivion.  There  are  yet  many  old 
members  in  the  Monnonite  church,  who  know  well  that  these 
things  are  true;3and  if  they  think  that  their  church  is  now 
reformed,  and  in  a  truly  living  and  spiritual  state,  it  would  be 
much  more  to  their  credit  to  come  out  and  say  openly,  that  the 
time  was  when  the  church  had  fallen  into  such  sh<tme/ul 
practices,  but  she  is  now  reformed,  revived  and  renovated. 

"They  still,  as  a  general  thing,  were  plain  in  their  dress, 


AND  HER  ACCUSERS.  13 


and  manner  of  life.  They  also  still  professed  to  be  non-resist- 
ant, and  refused  to  swear;  but  they  very  grossly  violated  their 
profession  of  non-resistance,  by  acts  tending  to  countenance 
and  abet  warfare,  and  more  especially,  by  seeking  for  redress 
of  grievance,  at  law,  and  defending  themselves  at  law  against 
claims  which  they  considered  unjust.  This  was  violating  a 
very  decided  principle  of  Menno's  profession.  The  washing 
of  feet,  if  not  rejected,  was  at  least  practically  omitted  for 
many  years.  The  kiss  of  peace  was  very  little,  if  at  all  prac- 
ticed. The  refusal  to  hear  the  service,  or  join  in  worship  with 
those  who  reject  and  refuse  to  obey  the  plain  commands  of  the 
gospel,  together  with  avoiding  excommunicatea  members,  both 
of  which  Menno  so  strenuously  upheld,  they  rejected  alto- 
gether, and  do  so  still,  to  the  present  day,  in  our  part  of  the 
country." 

"A  church  that  does  not  walk  in  the  love  of  God,  must  be 
destitute  of  the  Spirit,  and  consequently  a  dead  body.  If  the 
members  of  this  church  lived  and  walked  as  we  have  related, 
that  tradition  reports  they  did,  they  certainly  were  not  obedi- 
ent to  Christ.  Although  there  may  have  been  exemplary 
and  worthy  characters  amongst  them,  and  even  some  wlio 
seemed  pious  and  God-fearing,  yet  being  cognizant  of  these 
things  in  other  members,  they  could  not  obey  Christ,  without 
making  such  protest  against  these  things,  as  would  bring  them 
to  an  issue  before  the  church;  and  if  the  church  would  refuse 
to  obey  the  gospel  command,  they  must  withdraw  from  them 
in  order  to  full  obedience.  There  were  occasional  withdrawals, 
as  I  have  been  informed,  and  these  proved  themselves  obedi- 
ent, and  possessed  of  the  love  of  God.  But  the  mass  who  still 
clave  together,  and  bore  with  those  disorderly  and  carnal  mem- 
bers, were  surely  not  obedient,  and,  consequently,  by  Christ's 
own  declaration,  did  not  love  Him.  If  they  did  not  love 
Christ,  they  must  surely  have  been  destitute  of  the  Holy 
Spirit,  and  must  have  been  dead.  I  do  not  hold  that  every 
failure  in  obedience  is  evidence  that  a  soul  is  void  of  grace. 
We  are  poor,  weak  creatures,  and  may  be  overtaken  in  many 


14  THE   MENNONITE   CHURCH 


ways.  But  when  a  congregation  of  people  continue  for  many 
years  to  walk  habitually  and  persistently  in  a  carnal  course 
and  despite  the  motions  of  grace  in  the  heart,  and  the  protests 
and  reproofs  of  others,  I  do  not  see  how  we  can  conclude  oth- 
erwise, than  that  they  are  dead.  On  this  ground,  1  conclude 
this  church  was  dead,  and  I  should  like  to  see  upon  what 
Scripture  grounds  the  position  could  be  overthrown." 

Quoting  from  the  writings  of  John  Herr  he  gives  the  fol- 
lowing extracts:  "  But  according  to  this,  these  of  our  time  ai-e 
far  from  doing,  and  esteem  the  doctrine  of  their  reformer,  in 
many  points,  but  lightly.  The  cause  of  which,  is  this:  Menno 
Simon's  and  Detrich  Philip's  writings  and  doctrine,  sets  their 
present  community  quite  out  of  the  order  of  Christ  and  His 
apostles,  as  in  truth  it  is  entirely  out  of  that  order;  which  is 
testified  before  the  whole  world,  by  their  evident  fruits. 

"  Therefore  I  will  direct  thee,  my  dear  reader,  to  them. 
Search  the  above  mentioned  writings  with  an  unprejudiced 
heart,  and  spiritual  mind,  and  observe  how  they  pictured  the 
church  of  Christ,  and  how  gloriously  they  set  forth  by  the 
testimony  of  apostolic  truth  and  Divine  power,  and  which  also 
their  church  members  testified  by  their  fruits  and  sealed  with 
their  blood;  and  when  thou  hast  rightly  apprehended  this 
truth,  then  look  over  also  on  the  present  community  with  a 
spiritual  eye,  and  view  their  fleshly  life,  their  proud,  arrogant 
deportment,  and  their  careless,  cold  hearts  in  Divine  things; 
their  insatiable  world-spirit,  their  dealing  and  their  way,  how 
sensual  it  is  in  every  point,  almost  throughout  the  whole  of 
them  And  when  thou  hast  observed  this,  then  go  a  little 
further,  where  thou  wilt  find  a  great  many  defenseless,  unarmed 
mm.  Then  ask  the  judge  and  the  attorney;  they  will  tell 
you  that  some  of  them  are  engaged  in  strife  and  law  suits, 
as  much  as  others.  And  then  go  on  and  ask  the  debtors  and 
criminals;  they  will  tell  you  that  they  see  none  more  frequently 
on  the  seats  of  judgment,  passing  sentence  upon  them  and 
assisting  to  judge  them,  than  these.  Then  ask  the  tavern- 
keepers,  and  they  will  also  tell  thee  that  many  resort  thither, 


AND    HER   ACCtJSEES.  15 


who  are  lovers  of  spirituous  drink,  and  from  which  even  some 
of  their  teachers  are  not  free;  and  if  thou  wouhJst  ask  the 
race-riders  and  their  like,  they  would  tell  thee  that  they  also 
have  some  of  them  as  spectators,  as  well  as  of  all  others.  And 
if  thou  wilt  search  all  these  fruits  impartially,  according  to 
the  gospel,  then  thou  wilt  soon  find  that  they  falsely  term 
themselves  the  church  of  Christ;  and  as  far  as  the  evening  is 
from  the  morning,  or  darkness  from  the  light,  so  far  are  they 
separated  from  our  first  reformers'  doctrine  or  community,  or 
from  the  community  of  Christ.  And  it  is  to  be  feared  that  the 
candlestick  is  removed  from  them,  that  they  cannot  see;  and 
if  even  they  do  see  it  and  do  not  repent,  it  will  ultimately  be 
taken  from  them,  because  they  will  not  receive  the  truth  which 
is  yet  oflEered  to  them."     (Rev.  2.) 

On  page  262  he  (John  Herr)  calls  the  ministers  of  the  Old 
Mennonite  Church,  in  his  day,  false  and  unfaithful  teach- 
ers^ blind  leaders  of  the  blind,  and  says,  that  it  is  manifest 
that  they  do  not  love  Chiist,  because  they  do  not  keep  his 
commandments.  And  on  page  266  he  makes  the  following 
remarks :  "But  these  teachers  not  only  suffer  their  brethren  to 
go  unreproved,  but  likewise  the  public  sins  that  occur  before 
the  whole  world;  that  is  through  the  lusts  of  the  eye,  and 
fleshly  gratifications,  arrogant  distinctions,  yea,  and  sometimes 
they  loiter  in  public  places  till  they  become  inebriated  with 
vnne,  which  occasions  disorder,  and  in  general  they  lead  such 
an  evil,  dissipated  life,  that  the  heart  of  the  true  Christian 
must  bleed  for  them. 

"All  this,  I  say,  they  suffer  to  pass  on,  which  is  proved  by 
their  open  acts,  and  even  encourage  them  in  it,  when  they  come 
to  the  Sacrament  or  Supper,  as  if  they  were  members  of  Christ; 
and  by  this  iJiey  show  that  they  are  in  darkness,  for  they  love  not 
the  brethren,  for  if  they  had  any  love  for  them,  they  would 
pull  them  out  of  the  fire  (Jude  23  j.  And  since  they  neglect  to 
do  this,  and  much  rather  comfort  them  with  the  holy,token 
of  the  broken  body  and  blood  of  Christ,  *  *  they  are  man-slay- 
ers or  murderers,  for  they  lead  their  souls  onward  to  death  under 


16  THE    MENNONITE    CHURCH 

a  false  comfort;  so  that  they  imagine  all  is  well  with  them  in 
the  midst  of  their  fleshly  pursuits;  and  thus  they  rest  in  a 
deceitful  security,  till  death  overtakes  them  and  bears  them  to 
eternity,  where  they  shall  knock  and  say,  'Lord,  we  have  eaten 
and  drank  in  Thy  presence,  (the  Supper),  and  on  the  streets 
(or  meeting  houses)  hast  thou  taught  us;'  but  he  shall  answer: 
Depart  from  me,  for  I  know  you  not.'"     Luke  13. 

Again  on  page  267,  after  speaking  of  the  characteristics  by 
which  the  true  followers  of  Christ  should  be  distinguished,  he 
says,  "  But  as  nothing  of  this  is  seen  in  the  present  Mennonite 
society,  but  rather  the  reverse,  with  both  teachers  and  hearers, 
as  every  godly  person  may  see;  so  that  according  to  St.  Peter's 
doctrine,  they  must  be  blind,  and  'grope  as  if  they  had  no 
eyes,  and  stumble  at  noonday  as  in  the  night;  and  are  in  deso- 
late places  as  dead  men,  for  the  way  of  peace  they  know  not, 
and  there  is  no  judgment  in  their  goings;  they  have  made  them 
crooked  paths;  whosoever  goeth  thei'ein  shall  not  know  peace.' 
(Isa.  59.)  'For  their  vine  is  the  vine  of  Sodom,  and  of  the 
fields  of  Gomorrah.  Their  grapes  are  grapes  of  gall,  and  their 
clusters  are  bitter.'''     (Deut.  82.) 

On  page  268  friend  Musser  continues  these  extracts  from 
the  writings  of  John  Herr,  where  he  (Herr),  says  in  the  same 
connection  and  in  reference  to  the  same  subject:  "While  on 
the  contrary,  the  prince  of  this  world,  or  the  poisonous  and  cor- 
rupt vine,  stands  in  the  spiritual  Sodom,  in  the  midst  of  the  con- 
gregation or  church  of  darkness,  and  puts  forth  such  fleshly  and 
sour  branches,  from  the  corrupt  moisture  or  sap,  which  pro- 
duces bitter  clusters,  of  which  is  born  the  poison  of  dragons, 
and  the  cruel  venom  of  asps  (Deut.  32),  namely,  fleshly  minded 
men,  and  members  who  bear  the  fruits  of  the  flesh,  which  are 
hatred,  malice,  wrath,  strifes,  seditions,  emulations,  drunken- 
ness, revelings,  fornication,  adultery,  cursing,  swearing,  lying 
and  deceiving^  and  coveting  their  neighbor's  goods,  having 
hearts  overgrown  with  avarice,  which  is  idolatry,  and  the  root 
of  all  evil.  (Gal.  5.)  Tliey  seek  after  great  riches  and  honor 
in  the  world,  which  is  given  to  them,  because  they  fall  down 


AKD    HER   ACCUSEES.  17 

and  worship  him  and  serve  him  (Matt.  4),  and  testify  by  their 
works,  what  spirit  they  are  of." 

He  further  accuses  the  members  of  the  church  of  a  carnal, 
vain  and  haughty  life,  living  in  the  lusts  of  the  world  and  the 
flesh,  of  drinking  and  rioting,  worldliness,  buffoonery,  &c, 
and  that  they  "were  no  more  circumspect  in  their  walk"  than 
he  himself  was,  which  is  the  usual  way  in  which  self-righteous 
persons  justify  themselves  in  their  sins  and  short-comings. 
And  in  this  manner  he  proceeds  to  show  the  inconsistencies  of 
the  Old  church,  to  prove  that  they  were  dead,  corrupted, 
rejected  of  God,  and  no  longer  a  church.  His  writings 
througout  breathe  forth  the  very  same  spirit  as  the  writings  of 
Musser,  or  perhaps  it  would  be  said,  with  better  grace,  that 
Musser  following  in  the  footsteps  of  John  Herr,  received  his 
mantle,  and  his  writings  breathe  forth  throughout  the  same 
spirit  as  those  of  his  self-righteous  predecessor  and  for  the 
purpose  of  showing  this  fact,  we  have  given  the  foregoing 
extracts  from  Herr's  own  writings  as  quoted  by  Musser.  The 
kind  reader  should  bear  in  mind  that  Musser  fully  endorses  all 
these  accusations  of  Herr  and  says,  he  knov^s  them  to  be  true. 

On  page  284  D.  Musser  says  further:  "There  are  yet  people 
living  (and  of  their  own  members  too),  who  know  that  drink- 
ing to  excess,  revelry,  strife  and  envyings,  were  very  common 
amongst  members  of  the  church,  and  that  the  church  generally 
(ministers  amongst  the  rest),  knew  it,  and  no  notice  was  taken 
of  it." 

On  page  285  he  accuses  the  older  members  of  deceiving 
the  younger  portion  of  the  community  in  regard  to  the  truth 
of  his  assertions  and  other  irregularities.  He  says,  "  There  are 
old  members  of  the  church  who  if  they  would  be  candid,  could 
relieve  the  minds  of  their  younger  brethren  in  this  matter,  and 
if  they  wish  to  tell  the  truth  in  relation  to  it,  must  admit  it. 
They  know  it  was  a  common  thing  for  their  members  to  sit 
on  juries;  that  it  was  not  an  uncommon  thing  for  them  to 
have  law-suits,  and  some  of  them  being  lovers  of  strong  drink. 
I  myself,  know  of  different  persons,  who  were  commonly 
3 


THE   MENNONITE    CHURCH 


reported  at  the  time  as  addicted  to  drunkenness,  and  also  seen 
them  intoxicated;  yet  they  were  members  till  their  death; 
and  to  my  own  certain  knowledge  their  habits  were  well  known 
to  the  preachers.  Of  their  being  spectators  at  race-ridings, 
I  have  seen  myself  in  my  younger  days;  and  of  helping  to 
elect  men  to  such  office  and  position,  as  they  themselves  would 
consent,  was  not  consistent  for  them,  as  Christians,  to  hold,  it 
is  scarcely  necessary  to  speak,  because  it  is  yet  very  common 
amongst  them;  but  not  so  general  as  it  was  then.  But  at 
that  time  they  did  not  only  vote,  but  were  active  politicians 
in  their  districts,  causing  bitterness  and  strife;  which  I  have 
myself  seen,  and  know  to  be  true;  and  their  elder  brethren 
cannot  deny  it." 

On  page  286  he  comes  back  again  to  the  spiritual  condi- 
tion of  the  church  and  says:  "But  as  their  works  were  carnal, 
dead  works,  it  proves  that  they  had  neither  faith,  love,  nor 
the  spirit  of  life.  If  even  the  members  did  not  all  indulge  in 
carnal  deeds,  such  as  have  been  named  of  some,  their  ministers 
knew  it  well,  and  every  intelligent  member  knew  it;  and  as 
they  did  not  reprove  and  purge  the  church  of  these  offenders, 
it  is  proof  that  they  themselves  were  destitute  of  the  love  of 
God  and  of  his  Holy  Spirit  and  consequently  dead." 

Again  on  page  283  he  says:  "The  carnal  woiks  which  I 
have  spoken  of  as  having  learned  by  tradition,  I  have  from  so 
many  sources  and  from  such  authority,  that  I  cannot  help  but 
believe  it  to  be  true.  The  whole  church  and  the  world  well 
knew  of  their  existence,  and  yet  they  were  suffered  to  exist 
from  year  to  year  for  several  generations." 

On  pages  286,  287,  he  again  compares  the  Mennonite  church 
with  the  Catholic  chui'ch  and  says  in  substance,  that  as  the 
Catholic  church  in  the  days  of  the  Reformers  was  dead  and 
would  not  suffer  herself  to  be  reformed  by  those  men,  so  also 
the  Mennonite  church  was  dead  in  the  days  of  John  Herr  and 
would  not  consent  to  a  reformation  either  from  Kauffman,  Lan- 
dis,  or  John  Herr,  and  speaking  of  Francis  Herr  in  this  con- 
nection, he  certainly  makes  a  most  unfortunate  application  of 


AND    HER  ACCUSERS.  ID 


facts  (as  will  hereafter  appear),  when  he  says,  "Francis  Herr, 
of  this  vicinity,  became  awakened  in  the  last  century,  aind 
after  exhausting  every  means  to  make  his  brethren  sensible  of 
the  error  of  their  ways,  he  was  necessitated  to  withdraw  from 
their  fellowship,  as  all  his  prostestations  were  disregarded  and 
opposed.  For  many  years  he  privately  and  publicly  protested 
and  cried  aloud  against  the  iniquity.  The  church  would  not 
hear,  but  slandered  and  defamed  him,  to  drown  the  voice  that 
sounded  in  their  ears,  as  well  as  to  neutralize  its  effect  upon 
others." 

Thus  he  goes  on  in  his  accusations,  malignings  and  mis- 
representations, repeating  and  rehearsing  the  same  things  so 
often  that  the  mind  grows  weary  in  its  perusal.  His  assertions 
are  so  full  of  expressions  of  doubt,  probabilities,  suppositions, 
unsubstantiated  traditions,  and  unjustifiable  conclusions  that 
the  careful  and  unbiased  reader  is  involuntarily  led,  at  once, 
to  question  in  his  own  mind  whether  these  things  are  not  the 
products  of  prejudice,  envy  and  self-righteousness. 

These  extracts  from  the  writings  of  D.  Musser  and  John 
Herr  will  serve  to  show  the  reader  very  plainly  the  general 
style,  character  and  credibility  of  their  writings  concerning 
the  Old  Mennonite  Church.  D,  Musser  approves  and  endorses 
the  writings  of  John  Herr  and  on  page  240,  he  uses  the  fol- 
lowing strong  and  significant  language,  "From  my  own 
knowledge  and  observation  I  know  that  such  things  as  he 
writes  are  true.  In  saying  this  I  know  to  whom  I  must  give 
account,  and  it  is  to  Him  I  appeal  for  its  truth,"  Of  his  own 
writing  he  says,  page  285,  "jT  conscientiously  believe  tt  to 
he  true^  and  if  I  am  in  error,  I  beg  them  to  convince  me 
by  the  Word  of  God,  and  I  will  freely  retract." 

To  judge  from  these  quotations  and  many  other  remarks 
in  the  book  referred  to,  the  only  conclusion  we  could  arrive  at, 
would  be,  that  the  Mennonite  Church  was,  during  the  last 
hundred  years,  so  corrupted  as  to  have  forfeited  all  claims 
worthy  of  the  Christian  name,  yea,  a  sensual,  debauched,  pleas- 
ure-seeking, corrupted"  people.    The  whole  gist  and  tenor  of  his 


20  THE   MEHTNONITE    CHURCH 

representations  of  the  church,  bear  upon  this  one  subject, 
viz:  to  make  the  "Old  Mennonite  Church"  just  as  low  and 
degraded,  and  contemptible  and  infamous  as  possible,  and 
this  he  does  according  to  his  own  admission,  for  the  simple 
purpose  of  justifying  the  conduct  of  John  Herr  and  his  fol- 
lowers in  organizing  the  "Reformed  Mennonite  Church."  He 
admits  that  unless  they  can  show  the  old  church  a  corrupted 
church,  they  should  have  had  no  ground  for  withdrawing.  The 
degree  of  pure  benevolence,  pure  love  for  the  souls  of  such 
great  sinners,  for  a  church  so  utterly  blind  and  ignorant  and 
the  spirit  of  Christian  love,  possessed  by  Musser,  becomes 
apparent  from  such  a  course.  The  correctness  of  the  assertions 
of  one  laboring,  in  so  large  a  degree,  for  the  interests  and  jus- 
tification of  the  actions  of  his  own  party  or  sect,  should,  under 
all  circumstances,  be  subjected  to  a  most  careful  examination. 
The  strong  prejudice  under  which  the  writer,  in  this  case,  is 
laboring,  coupled  with  his  own  avowed  object  in  view,  are 
facts  which  naturally  awaken  doubt  and  suspicion,  and  his 
repeated  assertions  that  what  he  writes  is  true,  have  a  tendency 
rather  to  strengthen  than  to  allay  our  doubts. 

Now  if  these  accusations  are  true,  and  if  these  charges 
•can  be  sustained,  then  our  church  is  certainly  in  a  very  deplor- 
able condition,  and  we  dare  no  longer  boast  that  our  forefa- 
thers of  from  fifty  to  one  hundred  years  ago,  were  members  of 
a  Christian  church  ;  neither  can  we  (if  we  are  the  dead  body 
which  we  are  represented  to  be),  make  any  such  claims  for 
ourselves.  If  these  things  are  true,  we  must  condemn  the 
Mennonite  ministeis  of  that  day  as  blind  leaders  of  the  blind, 
corrupters  of  the  word  of  God,  partakers  of  the  evil  deeds  of 
corrupt  and  ungodly  men,  unfaithful,  guilty  of  the  most  shame- 
ful neglect  of  duty,  and  entirely  unfit  for  the  sacred  office  they 
filled.  We  must  look  upon  the  brotherhood  of  that  day  as  a 
combination  of  men,  guilty  of  the  most  flagrant  immorality 
and  sunken  into  the  deepest  depth  of  spiritual  corruption  ;  a 
sensual  and  carnal  people,  who  could  not  in  the  remotest 
degree,  lay  any  claims  to  the  privileges  of  the  church  of  Christ. 


AND    HER  ACCUSBR8.  21 


If  these  things  are  true,  we  must  esteem  the  church  of  that 
day,  as  a  body  so  corrupt  that  she  had  lost  every  virtue  of 
gospel  purity  and  was  so  dead  to  every  sense  of  righteousness 
and  holiness,  that  under  her  cloak  men  could  be  drunkards, 
deceivers,  dishonest,  defraud,  break  the  Sabbath,  gamble, 
dance  and  play,  and  indulge  in  all  manner  of  sinful  practices 
without  reproof. 

If  a  man  has  nothing  better  wherewith  to  justify  his 
course  of  action,  than  the  faults  and  failings  of  his  fellow- 
men,  whether  such  faults  are  real  or  imaginary,  he  is  certainly 
leaning  upon  a  broken  reed  ;  and  the  man  who  would  estab- 
lish his  own  righteousness,  and  justify  himself  by  condemning, 
slandering,  maligning  and  lowering  the  character  of  others,  is 
surely  not  fulfilling  the  perfect  law  of  love. 

The  inconsistency  of  these  charges  becomes  the  more 
apparent  when  we  notice  that  after  laboring  very  hard  to  make 
the  members  of  the  old  church  partakers  of  every  evil  work, 
charging  them  with  being  given  to  shameful  practices^  dis- 
honesty, deception  and  falsehood,  he  says,  "They  are  generally 
what  the  world  called  morale  frugal,  industrious  and  honest,'''' 
"good  moral  citizens  faithfully  fulfilling  their  moral  obliga- 
tions." 


CHAPTER  II. 

CHARACTERISTICS MOTIVES OUR    POSITION THE    CHARACTER 

OF    MUSSEr's    TESTIMONY. 

Slander  is  the  complainer's  great  weapon.  It  is  almost 
always  the  refuge  and  consolation  of  a  dissatisfied  mind  ; 
whenever  one  whose  heart  is  not  filled  and  restrained  by  the 
love  of  God,  becomes  dissatisfied  with  any  person,  an  associa- 
tion of  persons,  a  church  or  society,  his  grand  resort  is  almost 
always  to -slander,  and  this  is,  most  of  all,  the  case  with  dissat- 
isfied church  members,  members  who  have  fallen  under  church 
censure,  or  who  for  any  other  reason  have  withdrawn  them- 
selves or  been  expelled  from  a  church,  and  that  especial 
church  from  which  they  have  withdrawn,  or  with  which  they 
have  once  been  connected,  always  becomes  the  target  of  their 
bitterest  denunciations.  When  a  man  who  did  not  enter  by 
the  door  (Christ)  but  climbing  up  some  other  way,  has  found 
admission  into  the  church  and  perhaps  for  years,  been  dragging 
himself  along  on  its  skirts,  as  a  dead  body,  standing  in  the 
vineyard  as  a  fruitless  tree,  occupying  the  place  of  a  candle- 
stick and  giving  no  light,  the  subject  of  many  prayers  and 
exhortations,  and  the  cause  of  much  care  and  anxiety  to  his 
minister  or  bishop,  is  suddenly  awakened  from  his  stupor  by 
some  new  sensation,  in  the  pojjular  theology  or  religious  prac- 
tice of  the  day,  and  allows  himself  to  be  led  in  ihe  same  path 
of  insincerity  and  hypocrisy  as  before,  by  some  blind  leader  of 
the  blind,  and  vainly  supposes  that  he  now  has  found  the  true 
way  and  is  converted  and  a  true  Christian,  he  at  once  sets  up  a 
tirade  of  slander  and  abuse  against  those  with  whom  he  was 


AND    HER   ACCUSERS.  23 

once  identified.  Now  a  man  could  not  tell  it  in  plainer  lan- 
guage, nor  prove  by  a  more  unmistakable  and  stronger  evidence 
that  he  never  was  a  Christian  and  that  he  is  not  a  Christian  now, 
than  by  just  such  a  course.  Meekness  and  forgiveness,  love, 
pity,  and  kindness,  are  Christian  virtues  and  fruits  of  a  con- 
verted heart;  prayer  for  enemies  and  the  conversion  of  the  err- 
ing and  the  ignorant,  and  efforts  to  bring  them  to  the  knowl- 
edge of  God,  are  Christian  practices;  but  abuse  and  slander 
belong  to  the  works  of  darkness;  they  are  the  products  of 
an  unconverted  and  an  impenitent  heart. 

If  John  Herr  or  his  successor  Daniel  Musser,  had  ever 
been  members  of  the  Mennonite  church,  we  would  feel  that  it 
was  only  the  natural  course  which  nearly  all  dissatisfied  and 
unrenewed  persons  take  to  justify  themselves  when  they  need 
a  reason  for  withdrawing  from  a  church,  but  when  we  consider 
that  neither  of  these  persons  ever  were  membei's  of  the  Menno- 
nite  church,  we  fail  to  see  any  reason  why  they  should  try  so 
hard  to  abuse,  degrade,  condemn,  misrepresent  and  slander  the 
Old  Menuonite  Church  as  they  do,  unless  it  be  to  make  them- 
selves a  name  and  gain  honor  and  popularity  among  men;  or, 
unless  envious  of  the  stronghold,  the  well-established  reputation 
and  superior  numbers  of  the  Old  church,  they  are  seeking 
from  selfish  motives,  to  supplant  and  destroy  her.  In  either 
case,  the  motive  is  so  far  beneath  all  Christian  dignity  (to  say 
nothing  of  the  false  statements  it  contains),  that  it  seems  to  us 
impossible  that  any  one  making  any  claim  to  the  Christian 
religion,  could  so  far  forget  his  calling  as  to  stoop  to  such 
uncharitable,  such  unfeeling  and  wholesale  denunciations  as 
appear  in  this  work.  And  the  pretense  that  all  this  is  prompted 
by  the  spirit  of  love  and  done  from  a  sincere  conviction  of  duty, 
for  the  good  ot  the  Old  church,  is  truly  one  of  the  most  pecul- 
iar claims  we  have  ever  heard.  It  is  practically  just  such  an 
illustration  of  the  teachings  of  the  Gospel,  as  war  Christians 
present  us  with,  when  they  pretend  to  obey  the  Savior's  precept, 
'■'■Love  your  enemies,''''  by  taking  the  weapons  of  death  and 
going  out  to  destroy  their  lives.    The  whole  account  of  the  Old 


24  THB   MENNONITE    CHURCH 

Mennonite  Church  given  in  this  work,  indeed,  seems  to  be  a 
master-piece  of  pharisaical,  self-righteousness  and  egotism 
unequaled  by  any  author  of  the  present  age,  while  the  multi- 
tude of  conjectures,  suppositions,  expressions  of  doubt  and  the 
relation  of  circumstances  of  which  he  acknowledges  that  he 
does  not  know  whether  they  are  so  or  not,  at  once  stamp  it 
as  entirely  unworthy  of  the  smallest  degree  of  credence. 

In  our  attempt  to  show  the  sincere  reader,  that  many  of 
the  statements  so  uncharitably  made  by  Daniel  Musser  against 
the  Old  Mennonite  Church,  are  altogether  incorrect  and  untrue^ 
we  wash  to  be  distinctly  understood  that  we  make  no  claim  to 
perfection  as  long  as  the  church  is  composed  of  frail,  imperfect, 
human  beings.  We  do  not  claim  that  the  Old  Mennonite 
Church,  is  a  church  without  spot  or  blemish,  that  she  has  no 
unfaithful  members  among  her  numbers,  and  we  do  not  believe 
that  there  is  a  church,  of  any  considerable  number,  upon  the 
face  of  the  earth  (the  Reformed  Mennonite  Church  not 
excepted),  that  has  not  some  members  that  are  untrue,  and  who 
are  more  of  a  discredit  to  the  church  than  otherwise.  There 
was  a  Judas  among  the  twelve  apostles,  the  little  number  whom 
Jesus  had  chosen  as  his  special  followers;  there  was  an  Ana- 
nias and  Sapphira  and  others  who  unworthily  crept  into  the 
Christian  church  in  its  very  earliest  days,  and  should  we  pre- 
sume to  be  more  sagacious,  better  judges  of  human  nature,  and 
better  able  to  disclose  the  secrets  of  men's  hearts  than  even  the 
heaven-inspired  apostles  of  eighteen  hundred  years  ago? 

We  believe  and  teach  that  the  church  should  be  kept  pure; 
that  is,  when  members  become  transgressors  and  it  becomes 
known,  it  is  the  duty  of  the  church,  as  required  by  the  gospel, 
to  expel  the  offending  member  or  members  from  her  com- 
munion. This  doctrine  the  Old  Mennonite  Church  has  always 
maintained,  taught  and  practiced,  even  during  the  very  period 
of  time  in  which  Musser  and  Herr  claim  that  she  was  so  very 
corrupt  and  altogether  without  discipline,  as  will  appear  here- 
after, and  as  Musser  also  acknowledges  in  several  instances 
referred  to  in  his  book. 


AND    HEE    ACCUSERS.  25 

That  there  may  have  been  members  in  the  church  who 
manifested  no  good  light,  who  were  more  loose  in  their  morals 
than  they  should  have  been,  and  that  there  were  even  ministers 
and  bishops  who  were  less  I'igid  in  their  administration  of  the 
affairs  of  the  church,  than  the  gospel  requires,  we  will  not 
deny,  for  as  we  above  remarked,  we  do  not  look  for  perfection 
in  imperfect,  human  beings  on  this-  side  of  the  grave;  and  if 
the  Old  church  had,  and  still  has,  weaknesses  in  this  direction, 
the  Reformed  Mennonite  Church  had  a  greater  weakness,  by 
endeavoring  to  display,  adorn  and  beautify  her  own  perfec- 
tions by  pointing  out  the  imperfections  of  the  Old  church,  and 
basely  falsifying  and  misrepresenting  her.  Pharisee-like  she 
seems  to  stand  in  her  lofty  temple,  thanking  God  that  she  is 
not  like  other  men,  or  even  like  this  poor  publican. 

If  our  light  is  so  dim  that  it  will  not  shine  unless  we  first 
extinguish  our  neighbors,  we  ought  to  gather  more  oil  and  put 
it  in  better  trim.  If  our  actions,  our  walk  and  conversation  can 
not  prove  edifying  to  the  world  without  we  disgrace  our  neigh- 
boi's,  we  ought  to  set  about  improving  ourselves  in  the  Chris- 
tian graces,  and  if  a  church  cannot  stand  on  its  own  merits, 
and  prove  a  power  and  exert  an  influence  on  the  world  without 
stooping  to  degrade  its  neighbors,  it  proves  that  the  church  is 
not  the  church  of  God,  for  the  Savior  says,  "  Upon  this  rock 
will  I  build  my  church  and  the  gates  of  hell  shall  not  prevail 
against  it."  "Ye  are  the  light  of  the  world;  a  city  that  is  set 
on  a  hill  cannot  be  hid.''  "Lo!  I  am  with  you  always,  even 
unto  the  end  of  the  world."  "In  my  name  shall  they  cast  out 
devils;  they  shall  speak  with  new  tongues;  they  shall  take  up 
serpents;  and  if  they  drink  any  deadly  thing,  it  shall  not  hurt 
them."  Thus  the  promise  of  God  is  with  his  people,  and  his 
church  should  look  for  the  blessings  of  heaven  unto  him  who 
has  promised  and  is  faithful,  and  build  the  house  of  the  Lord 
in  faith,  seeking  to  gather,  to  bind  up,  to  heal  and  to  lead  the 
erring  ones  to  the  true  fountain  of  life,  and  not  cast  down, 
destroy  and  scatter.  Besides,  according  to  the  above  promises, 
if  the  Reformed  Mennonite  Church  is  the  true  church,  as  they 
4 


26  THE   MENNONITE    CHURCH 

claim  she  is,  then  all  that  the  Old  church  could  do  would  not 
affect  them;  she  would  prosper  and  grow  notwithstanding,  and 
hence  there  would  not  have  been  the  remotest  necessity  for 
the  slanderous  production  which  Musser  has  so  greatly  exerted 
himself  to  produce. 

To  judge  a  man  by  one  act  of  his  life,  by  one  word  from 
his  lips,  by  a  single  manifestation  of  his  moral  or  religious 
character  would  be  unjust.  No  prudent  man  would  do  it,  and 
no  one,  whether  of  good  or  bad  character,  would  be  willing,  on 
any  matter  of  importance,  to  be  thus  judged.  A  whole  chain 
of  words  and  actions  are  sometimes  linked  together,  the  devel- 
opment of  which  often  thx*ows  a  very  different  light  upon 
the  subject  of  our  investigations.  So  in  forming  a  just  esti- 
mate of  the  condition  or  character  of  a  church  we  should  be 
thoroughly  acquainted  with  the  church  in  general,  with  her 
doctrines,  teachings  and  practice.  This  knowledge  should  be 
obtained  by  repeated  and  continued  observations,  and  the  testi- 
mony of  impartial  and  unprejudiced  witnesses;  not  from 
flying  and  uncertain  reports,  or  from  persons  who  are  the  open 
opposers  and  enemies  of  the  church.  Neither  would  it  be  right 
to  convict  and  condemn  a  man  upon  the  testimony  of  persons 
who  were  prejudiced  against  him,  or  who  from  selfish  motives 
would  be  inclined  to  testify  against  the  accused  unjustly;  to 
do  full  justice,  we  need  unprejudiced  witnesses,  an  impartial 
jury  and  an  unbiased  judge. 

This  is  the  prominent  error  of  D.  Musser  in  his  attack 
Upon  the  Old  Mennonite  Church.  His  testimony  is  in  a  large 
degree  traditional,  and  both  his  traditional  testimony  .as  well  as 
that  which  is  written,  is  mostly,  if  not  altogether,  from  per- 
sons, who,  because  they  could  not  be  allowed  to  dictate  to  the 
church,  or  for  other  reasons,  became  dissatistied  and  withdrew 
from  the  church,  or  who  as  transgressors  were  expelled,  or 
from  such  as  had  never  been  members  at  all,  but  were  strongly 
prejudiced  against  the  church.  In  this  manner  he  is  able  to 
make  an  apparently  very  strong  case,  but  we  shall  be  sui-prised, 


ANT)    HBE   ACCUSHES.  27 

if  the  injury  he  has  sought  to  do  to  others,  will  not  in  the  end 
rebound^with  double  force  upon  himself. 

Christian  Kauffraan,  whose  testimony  Musser  gives,  was, 
according  to  his  own  statement,  disobedient  to  the  require- 
ments and  long  established  customs  of  the  church,  and  when 
he  found  the  church  would  not  yield  to  her  well  established 
rules,  he  became  dissatisfied  and  withdrew.  Under  such  cir- 
cumstances it  could  hardly  be  expected  his  testimony  could  be 
other  than  'what  it  is — derogatory  to  the  church.  Abraham 
Landis,  whose  testimony  is  also  given,  was  evidently  a  similar 
character,  looking  only  on  the  dark  side,  finding  fault  with 
everything  and  everybody  in  the  church  except  himself,  and 
not  being  able  to  rule,  he  is  determined,  if  possible,  to  ruin. 
Full  of  self-righteousness,  he  knows  only  to  tell  of  his  own 
good  works,  while  the  actions  of  others  are  ^11  wrong. 

John  Herr,  who  may  be  considered  the  founder  or  father 
of  the  Reformed  Mennonite  Church,  never  was  a  member  of 
the  Old  Church,  but  having  wholly  devoted  himself  to 
the  New  Church,  and  risen  to  its  leadership,  and  liis  church, 
to  a  great  extent,  a  rival  of  the  Old  Church,  and  he  with 
many  of  his  followers  strongly  prejudiced,  and  no  doubt 
somewhat  hurt  in  his  own  feelings,  on  account  of  the  expul- 
sion, from  the  church,  of  his  father,  Francis  Herr  (  of  whom 
we  will  hereafter  speak),  we  can,  of  course,  expect  noth- 
ing else  but  the  severest  censures  and  denunciations.  The 
impartial  historian  could  never  venture  to  base  the  record 
of  any  event  upon  such  testimony,  if  he  desired  to  give  a 
faithful  account  of  it.  But  this  is  just  the  kind  of  evidence 
from  which  D.  Musser  draws  his  conclusions,  and  declares 
that  he  believes  they  are  true,  and  that  he  never  heard  them 
contradicted,  and  does  not  believe  they  cnn  he,  and  that 
from  his  own  personal  knowledge  he  knows  them  to  be  true. 
Let  us  see. 

One  of  the  most  unhesitating  statements  which  D.  Musser 
gives  in  his  work,  in  conn(»ction  with  his  long  parade  of  cor- 
ruptions, in  the  Old  Church  is,  that  Francis  Herr,  the  father  of 


28  THE   MENNONITE    CHUECH 

John  Herr,  was  a  member  of  the  Old  Church,  but  that  because 
the  Old  Church  became  so  corrupt  he  could  no  longer,  Avith  a 
good  conscience,  remain  with  her,  and  that  on  this  account  he 
withdrew  from  the  church.  Musscr  takes  considerable  pains 
to  show  that  Francis  Herr  was  a  very  good  and  devoted  Chris- 
tian, and  that  he  stood  high  in  the  estimation  of  his  neighbors 
and  friends,  and  that  his  pure  principles,  pious  walk,  and  the 
general  demoralization  of  the  Old  Church,  led  him  to  separate 
himself  from  her,  and  contradicts  what  we  have  above  inti- 
mated, namelj',  that  he  was  expelled  for  misconduct. 

We  shall  here  be  under  the  necessity  of  saying  what  we 
would  rather  not  buj.  It  pains  us  that  the  necessity  for  saying 
it  exists,  but  in  justice  to  the  truth,  we  beg  leave  to  make  the 
following  statement :  Francis  Herr  was  a  member  of  ihe  Old 
Mennonite  Church,  but  how  he  graced  the  Christian  profession 
will  appear  in  the  course  of  our  remarks.  He  was  called  to 
account  by  the  church  for  unfair  dealing  and  dishonesty 
toward  a  neighbor,  in  connection  with  the  sale  of  a  horse. 
The  church  requested  him  to  make  recompense  and  confess  his 
error.  This  he  refused  to  do,  and  consequently  was  expelled 
from  the  church,  and  from  that  time  forward  began  to  abuse 
and  malign  her.  This  statement,  however  it  may  vary  from 
that  given  by  D.  Musser,  can  be  substantiated  by  a  number  of 
persons  whose  testimony  is  unquestionable,  and  who  know 
whereof  they  affirm :  it  is  the  testimony  of  men  who  are  so  per- 
fectly familiar  with  the  circumstances  that  there  can  be  no  mis- 
take about  it,  and  we  feel  sure  that  if  friend  Musser  had  made 
the  effort,  he  could  very  easily  have  obtained  an  account  of 
this  matter,  much  more  in  accordance  with  the  facts  in  the 
case  than  the  one  he  has  given.  Musser  stoutly  denies  that 
Francis  Herr  ever  was  expelled  from  the  church  for  the  miscon- 
duct above  referred  to,  but  the  account  which  he  gives  of  it,  is 
so  full  of  suppositions,  uncertainties,  doubts,  and  conjectures 
that  as  a  reliable  and  authentic  account  it  has  no  value.  * 


*  See  further  the  testimony  of  Susan  Herr  and  remarks  on  a  sub- 
sequent page. 


AND    HEK   ACCUSERS.  29 

We  see  that  T).  Musser  was  not  only  unfortunate  in  the 
selection  of  his  witnesses,  but  doubly  unfortunate  in  giving 
place  to  an  article  and  confirming  the  same,  which  the  most 
positive  and  indisputable  evidence  condemns  as  incorrect  and 
untrue. 

It  just  seems  to  us  as  though  Musser  felt,  when  he  wrote 
his  account  of  the  character  of  Francis  Herr,  that  he  was 
treading  on  uncertain  ground.  When  a  man  states  facts  it 
seems  to  us  altogether  superfluous  for  him  to  make  so  great  an 
effort  to  prove  them  true.  The  truth  will  always  vindicate 
itself,  and  a  fact  will  always  stand  on  its  own  merit;  but  when 
men  make  a  doubtful  declaration  they  feel  that  they  ought  to 
say  something  to  prove  it  true,  and  this  seems  to  be  just  the 
case  with  these  statements  of  Musser.  We  would  much  rather 
believe  that  it  was  the  result  of  incorrect  information  on  the 
part  of  friend  Musser,  and  draw  the  mantle  of  charity  over  his 
weakness,  but  this  strong  effort  to  un popularize  everything 
that  belongs  to  the  Old  Church  forbids  any  other  conclusion 
than  that  which  we  have  given,  much  as  we  wish  we  could 
have  some  hope  of  being  mistaken,  and  that  his  intention  was 
a  great  deal  better  than  his  writings  show. 

Let  us  now  direct  our  attention  to  the  consideration  of 
evidences  and  testimonies  which  set  forth  the  condition  and 
character  of  the  Old  Church  in  that  period  of  time  in  which 
Musser  so  unhesitatingly  condemns  and  denounces  her. 


CHAPTER  III. 

HOW   WE    MAY    KNOW — THE    OLD    MINISTERS WRITINGS    OF 

HENRY    FUNK    AND    OTHERS. 

Being  naturally  of  a  modest  turn  of  mind,  it  is  with  a 
good  deal  of  diffidence  that  we  venture  upon  the  task  of 
showing,  to  the  ijiipartial  reader,  the  true  characteristics  and 
condition  of  our  church,  during  the  eventful  period  in  which 
our  accusers  and  defamers  claim  she  was  so  corrupt  and 
fallen. 

We  would  rather  leave  the  delicate  task  to  another  ;  we 
would  rather  bear  infamy  in  silence,  but  we  believe  it  to  be  a 
duty  we  owe  to  the  church  and  to  posterity,  to  give,  at  least, 
a  fair  and  true  representation  of  facts  as  they  existed.  We 
would,  however,  discard  and  avoid  every  appearance  of  ego- 
tism and  selfishness  ;  we  would  rather  ourselves  bear  all  the 
unjust  accusations  and  shameful  slanders  which  selfishness  has 
prompted  men  to  endeavor  to  heap  upon  us,  than  to  overdraw 
the  picture  in  our  favor.  We  have,  however,  taken  pains  to 
inquire  of  older  persons,  who  well  remember  the  condition 
of  things,  and  the  ministers  of  that  period  of  time,  during 
which,  according  to  our  friend  Musser's  statement,  the  church 
was  so  very  corrupt,  and  we  have  not  yet  found  one  who 
could  say,  or  who  knew  of  the  existence  of  such  a  state  of 
affairs  as  that  presented  in  the  book  referred  to  in  the  preced- 
ing chapters  of  this  work. 

We  have  already  admitted  that  there  were  unfaithful 
members,  and  that  there  may  have  been  unfaithful  ministers 
in  the  church  ;  there  were  weak  brethren  and  there  were  those 
who   were   not  zealous   of  good  works  as  they  should  have 


AND    HER   ACCUSERS.  31 

been,  but  a  few  unfaithful  members  did  not  constitute  the 
church,  neither  could  it  be  maintained  on  this  ground  tliat 
the  church  was  a  corrupt  church. 

We  wish  the  reader  to  bear  this  in  mind.  It  is  our  pur- 
pose to  illustrate  more  particularly  the  condition  of  the  church, 
than  the  life  of  individual  members,  (though  to  some  extent 
this  may  also  be  necessary),  and  for  this  purpose  it  will  be 
needful  for  us  to  investigate,  to  a  considerable  extent,  the 
lives,  actions,  teachings  and  conversation  of  the  ministry; 
their  writings  (if  any  there  be);  the  dealings  of  the  church  with 
transgressors,  which  in  addition  to  traditional  testimony  will 
no  doubt  give  us  a  very  accurate  representation  of  the  con- 
dition of  the  church,  and  so  present  to  us  the  evidence  of  the 
truth,  or  the  untruth  of  the  chai-ges  made. 

The  public  teachings  of  a  church  are  generally  a  very  good 
criterion  of  its  inner  life  and  doctrine.  The  Savior  teaches 
that  "out  of  the  abundance  of  the  heart,  the  mouth  speaketh." 
So  according  to  the  measure  of  light  and  the  measure  of 
the  Spirit  of  God,  which  a  man  possesses  will  he  preach. 
Hence,  if  a  man  is  sincere  in  his  heart,  his  preaching  will 
declare  the  spirit  and  character  which  he  possesses.  So  in 
writing.  A  letter,  an  article,  a  book  tells  a  gi-eat  deal,  not  only 
of  the  man,  but  also,  the  spirit  of  tlie  man. 

In  this  manner  we  may  form  a  very  fair  estimate  of  the  men 
who  lived  and  labored  in  the  Mennonite  church,  three  quarters 
of  a  century,  or  a  century  ago.  Though  they  are  dead,  yet 
they  speak.  They  are  gone  to  their  reward,  yet  their  influ- 
ences remain,  and  their  words  are  not  forgotten;  their  works 
still  do  follow  them. 

Now  let  us  look  at  the  words  and  works  which  they  have 
left  us.  Ask  any  of  our  old  inen  what  they  can  say  about  the 
ministers  of  their  day;  the  old  ministers  whom  they  can 
remember  when  they  were  young.  What  kind  of  men  were 
they?  Were  they  the  light-minded,  frivolous,  vain,  corrupt, 
pleasure-loving  characters  represented  in  the  book  of  D.  Mus- 
ser,   and  the  writings  of  John  Herr?     Go  baek  in  your  mem- 


32  THE   MENNONITE    CHURCa 

ories!  Listen  again  to  the  solemn  cadence  of  their  voices  as 
they  re-echo  through  the  plain,  old  meeting-houses,  and  liear 
their  solemn  ajapeals,  and  how  they  made  you  almost  tremble 
as  you  felt  in  your  hearts  the  solemn  truths  that  they  uttered, 
and  you  know  if  you  had  followed  their  instructions  as  you 
ought  to  have  done,  you  would  have  been  better  men,  better 
women.  Tell  me  they  were  unconverted  and  corrupt  men! 
Tell  me  ihey  did  not  have  the  love  of  God  in  their  hearts! 
You  dare  not  utter  the  word!  You  know  better;  you  feel 
now,  "If  I  only  was,  what  they  were;  if  I  only  possessed  now 
the  grace  that  they  possessed  and  manifested,  how  good  it 
would  be  for  me." 

Listen  again  to  their  pious  conversation  when  they 
visited  your  house;  the  good  advice  they  gave  you;  "Oh  !'' 
you  say,  "  If  I  had  only  listened  better  to  them,  and  obeyed 
their  instructions,  I  should  have  done  more  for  my  Savior  than 
I  have."  They  were  men  who  were  strong  in  the  Lord,  and 
whose  influences  were  felt  wherever  they  went,  in  public  and 
private,  and  we  love  to  think  of  them  and  live  over  in  our 
memories  again  the  sweet  thoughts  with  which  they  inspired 
us.  "Oh,"  said  a  dear  old  brother  recently  of  these  very  men, 
"Young  as  I  was  when  I  united  with  the  chm-ch,  I  cannot  say 
that  I  did  not  know  what  repentance  was.  They  called  us 
together  from  time  to  time  for  months,  and  instructed  us  in  the 
truths  and  doctrines  of  the  word  of  God."  The  custom  in 
those  days  was  to  hold  young  converts  under  instruction  for 
a  period  of  from  three  to  six  months. 

Then  read  the  writings  of  these  men  and  you  will  feel 
that  there  was  something  more  than  the  empty  jargon  which 
fills  such  a  multitude  of  the  so-called  religious  books  of  to-day. 
Read  if  you  will,  the  writings  of  Henry  Funk,  of  Christian 
Burkholder,  of  Abraham  Godshalk,  of  Benjamin  Eby,  and 
others,  and  then  judge  what  the  representatives  in  the  Menno- 
iiite  Church  of  that  day  were,  and  see  if  you  can  discover  in 
all  these  things,  traces  of  the  corruptions  charged  against  us. 

We  shall  first  refer  to  the  writings  of  Henry  Funk.     He 


AliTli    HEE   ACCUSERS.  'S3 

came  to  America  in  1719  and  settled  on  Indian  Creek,  in  what 
is  now  called  Franconia  Township,  in  Montgomery  Co.,  Pa, 
After  a  number  of  other  brethren  came  and  settled  there,  he 
was  chosen  to  the  ministry  and  afterwards  ordained  to  the 
office  of  bishop.  He  was  a  faithful  and  zealous  minister, 
and  during  his  life  did  much  for  the  advancement  and  prog- 
ress of  the  church.  He  and  Dillman  Kolb  supervised  the 
translation  of  the  Martyr's  Mirror  from  the  Dutch  to  the 
German  and  certified  to  its  correctness,  the  first  American 
edition  of  which  was  published  at  Ephrata,  Lancaster  County 
Pa.,  in  1748.  He  also  wrote  considerable,  and  his  writings 
prove  him  to  have  been  a  man  of  more  than  ordinary  abilities, 
a  deep  thinker,  and  a  careful  Bible  student.  His  '•  Mirror  of 
Baptism"  was  first  published  by  Christopher  Saur,  in  Ger. 
mantown,  in  1744,  and  has  since  passed  through  at  least  five 
editions.  He  also  wrote  a  volume  of  over  three  hundred  large 
pages  under  the  title  of  "Erklaeruug  einiger  Hauptpunkten 
des  Gesetzes,''  in  which  he  gives  an  explanation  of  some  of 
the  principal  parts  of  the  law,  their  fulfillment  through  Christ 
and  their  signification  under  the  gospel  dispensation,  in  twen- 
ty-five parts  or  chapters.  This  work  was  published  by  his 
children  in  1763,  three  years  after  his  death,  and  was  printed 
by  Anton  Armbruster  in  Philadelphia.  It  was  also  reprinted 
in  Biel,  in  Switzerland,  in  1844,  and  in  Lancaster,  Pa.,  in  1862, 
and  is  a  very  interesting  and  valuable  work.  * 

From  the  foregoing  it  will  be  seen  that  the  time  of  the 
life  and  labors  of  Henry  Funk  was  through  the  first  half  or 
two-thirds  of  the  eighteenth  century,  and  from  his  writings 
we  may  gather,  at  least,  some  idea  of  what  the  church  was  and 
what   her   teachings  were  during  that  period. 

On  page  109,  in  the  edition  of  1763,  in  the  article,  "  The 
Priestly  Office  of  Jesus  and  Sis  followers,^''  he  says,  "Therefore,  let 
every  one  of  my  kind  readers  well  consider,  how  that  Jesus  is 


*  For  some  of  the  above  facts  we  are  indebted  to  "Notes"  by  S. 
W.  Pennypacker,  iu  the  article,  "Mennonite  Emigration  to  Penn- 
sylvania," in  Pennsylvania  Magazine,  No.  2,  1878- 

5 


34  THE    MENNONITE    CHURCH 

a  Being  of  the  most  incomprehensible  greatness.  Isa.  4:10- 
12  ;  41  :  4  He  is,  'The  mighty  God,  the  everlasting  Father 
(Isa.  9  :  6),  a  Stone  and  Kingdom  that  fills  the  whole  earth.' 
Daniel  2  :  35,  44.  Such  an  indescribable  Being  is  Jesus. 
Thus  he  is  also  the  indescribable  King  of  kings,  an  indescrib- 
able High  Priest;  and  just  so  indesci'ibable  is  his  raiment  or 
priestly  apparel,  and  his  royal,  high-priestly  office,  and  the 
sacrifice  which  he  brought  into  the  Holy  of  Holies  and  ac- 
complished for  us  such  an  indescribable  great  joy;  and  just  so 
indescribably  great  is  the  number  of  souls  which  he  brought 
from  death  unto  life,  from  the  beginning  of  the  ivorld  until  his 
second  coming  at  the  end.  Thiis  also  by  his  blood  he  has 
brought  forth  an  indescribable  Church,  Tabernacle,  and  Tem- 
ple, both  on  earth  and  in  heaven,  which  shall  remain  eternal  in 
eternity.  In  this  eternal  Temple,  Jesus  is  the  .forever-abiding 
High  Priest.  All  this  Jesus  accomplished  by  the  sacrifice  of 
his  body  and  blood,  by  his  suffering,  death,  and  resurrection. 
Therefore  every  soul  should  draw  nigh  unto  Jesus  tvifh  a  true,  living^ 
and  active  faith,  and  submit  to  him  with  body  and  soul,  that 
they  may  possess  this  glorious  High  Priest  both  in  this  present 
time  and  in  eternity." 

Again,  on  page  111,  he  says:  "  There,  sitteth  the  High 
Priest,  in  his  glorious,  priestly  office  and  raiment,  on  the 
throne  of  his  glory,  and  on  his  raiment,  in  his  heart,  he  has  the 
breastplate  of  the  New  Testament,  filled  with  light,  love,  and 
righteousness,  in  which  he  speaks,  from  above,  from  heaven, 
in  the  spirit  of  his  wisdom,  through  his  servants  (2  Cor.  5  :  20), 
and  by  his  Gospel  exhorts  the  fallen  sinner  to  come  to  him, 
and  be  reconciled  with  God,  not  by  the  law  of  Moses,  with 
oxen  and  rams,  and  such  like  offerings,  but  with  the  offerings 
of  a  broken  heart,  a  broken  and  contrite  spirit  which  are  well-pleas- 
ing to  God  Ps.  51  :  17.  Therefore,  shall  man  come  to  the 
High  Priest,  Jesus,  with  a  living  faith  in  him,  with  repentance 
and  reformation  of  life,  with  the  laying  aside  of  the  works  of 
sin  and  the  putting  on  of  righteousness,  with  the  full  convic- 
tion that  Jesus  has  full  power  to  forgive  sins,  and  that  he  is 


AND    HER    ACCUSERS.  35 


the  only  High  Priest,  in  whom  and  through  whom  alone  we 
can  obtain  reconciliation  with  God.  When  man  comes  to 
Jesus  in  this  manner,  Jesus  will  be  to  him  the  merciful  High 
Priest  that  desireth  souls  of  this  character  (Matt.  11  '.  28);  that 
he  may  release  them  from  the  burden  of  their  sins,  and  give 
them  the  easy  yoke  of  his  love,  that  they  may  serve  him,  and 
he  desires  to  receive  them  as  Levitee  and  priests  instead  of  the 
firstborn  (Num.  3 :  12),  to  serve  in  his  Tabernacle,  Temple  and 
Church." 

Further,  on  page  112,  after  referring  to  Jno.  17  ;  Heb.  7  : 
25  ;  1  Jno.  2  :  1,  2,  we  find  this  passage,  "Such  a  great  High 
Priest  is  Jesus,  that  all  men  that  come  to  him  in  true 
faith,  repentance  and  reformation^  may  through  him,  and  the 
sacrifice  which  he  made,  come  to  God." 

On  pages  112  and  113,  he  further  says,  "But  Jesus  in  his 
priestly  ofiice  is  much  more  perfect  (than  Aaron  and  his  sons), 
because  he  not  only  sees  the  outward  impurity  of  the  leprosy 
of  sin,  in  man,  but  he  also  sees  and  knows  the  hidden  impu- 
rity of  the  heart.  Mark  20  :  23.  When  such  impurity  arises 
or  makes  its  appearance  in  the  house  of  God  among  believers, 
Jesus,  who  seeth  in  secret,  warns  them  through  the  Gospel,  to 
cleanse  themselves  from  such  impurity  of  heart.  If  such 
warning  is  accepted,  and  men  lay  hold  of  themselves,  by  the 
grace  of  God,  to  purify  themselves  fi'om  such  impurity  of 
heart,  with  a  sorrowing  and  penitent  heart,  Jesus  our  High 
Priest  knows  it  at  once,  receives  him  as  pure,  forgives  him 
his  sins,  reconciles  him  with  the  Father  and  retains  him 
in  his  house,  in  the  spiritual  citizenship  of  Israel.  If,  how- 
ever, a  man  does  not  reform,  but  goes  on  in  his  evil  ways,  he 
will  through  his  evil  thoughts,  exclude  himself  from  those 
spiritual  gifts,  so  that  faith,  love,  and  the  peace  of  God,  will 
no  longer  have  any  influence  with  him.  If  a  man  then  sees 
and  finds  that  his  heart  has  become  so  impure  and  corrupted, 
that  the  divine  influences,  as  faith,  love,  and  peace,  and  what- 
soever more  belongs  thereto,  do  no  longer  affect  him,  and  that 
his  exclusion  by  the  High  Priest  is  near  at  hand,  and  he 


36  THE    MENNONITE   CHURCH 


becomes  concerned,  and  reforms  himself  with  a  sorrowing  and 
penitent  heart,  Jesus,  the  great  High  Pi'iest  is  ever  at  hand  to 
notice  it,  and  will  by  no  means  reject  him  if  he  repents,  but 
much  rather  forgive  and  before  the  Father  reconcile  him.  If 
a  man,  however,  will  not  leave  the  deceitfulness  of  his  heart, 
evil  thoughts  will  take  possession  of  him,  which  will  corrupt 
him  and  produce  an  evil  leprosy  full  of  sin  and  blasphemy,  of 
which  we  have  the  first  example  in  Cain  (Gen.  4  :  5,  8),  and 
still  a  more  perfect  one  in  Judas.  Of  this  leprosy,  and  wick- 
edness, which  have  no  place  in  the  Temple  and  Kingdom  of 
Christ,  the  Scriptures  speak  in  Gal.  5  :  J  9-21  ;  Rom.  1  :  21-32  ; 
2:5,  9  ;  Rev.  21  :  8  ;  22  :  15  ;  1  Cor.  5:11.  Observe  well, 
where  such  a  leprosy  of  ungodliness  and  sinful  corruption 
appears  in  man,  before  the  all-seeing  eye  of  God,  without  true 
repentance,  they  are  in  the  Holy  Scriptures,  by  the  High 
Priest,  Jesus,  excluded  from  his  house  and  from  his  king- 
dom, as  we  have  shown  above.  When,  however,  he  who  is 
taken  in  this  leprosy  of  sin,  is  able  by  the  g]-ace  of  God  in 
this  present  life,  to  see  his  sinfulness  and  leprosy,  and  becomes 
conscious  that  on  this  account,  he  has  been  excluded  and 
expelled  from  the  Camp,  by  the  Lord;  and  with  the  King, 
Manasseh,  enters  within  himself,  and  exercises  himself  in  sin- 
cere sorrow  and  repentance  on  account  of  his  many  sins, 
prayina:  and  sighing  to  God;  and  with  the  prodigal  son  returns 
to  the  Father;  leaves  the  herd  of  swine  (which  are  the  many 
sins)  and  ungodly  works,  (Luke  15)  and  turns,  in  faith,  to 
Jesus,  with  repentance  and  reformation  of  life,  then  the  offer- 
ing, the  body  and  blood  of  Jesus,  the  High  Priest,  with  which 
he  entered  into  the  Holy  Place,  is  yet  so  powerful  that  it  again 
makes  full  satisfaction  for  all  the  sins  which  he  committed, 
so  that  man  is  again  received  by  the  Father  as  a  son,  in  the 
fullness  of  divine  grace,  and  by  command  of  the  Father 
clothed  in  the  best  garment,  the  garment  of  righteousness,  and 
the  Father  with  his  house  (the  angels)  rejoices  over  the  event. 
Luke  15  :  10,  22,  23, 

"If,  however,  man  in  his  selfishness  and  wickedness  of 


AND    HBE    ACCUSERS.  37 


heart,  refuses  to  accept  the  grace  of  God  unto  repentance, 
which  is  taught  in  the  Gospel  by  Jesus  and  his  ambassadors, 
he,  according  to  the  words  of  the  Gospel,  must  remain 
excluded,  and  Jesus  remains  a  High  Priest  forever;  and  at  the 
last  day  he  will  make  a  separation  between  the  leprous  and 
the  clean,  between  the  sheep  and  the  goats,  and  place  the 
goats  on  the  left,  out  of  the  kingdom  of  God,  into  everlasting 
fire,  prepared  for  the  devil  and  his  angels.  But  the  sheep  he 
will  place  to  his  right,  into  eternal  life,  where  will  be  fullness 
of  ^joy  forever  and  ever.  Let  us  as  children  and  priests  of 
God,  hasten  and  seek  through  Jesus,  to  obtain  an  entrance 
there." 

From  the  foregoing,  the  reader  will  readily  perceive  what 
the  teachings  of  the  church  were  in  the  middle  of  the  last 
century.  It  is  true  we  present  here  the  testimony  of  a  single 
preacher,  but  there  were  but  a  small  number  of  churches  in 
the  country  in  the  days  of  this  writer,  and  these  churches, 
according  to  reliable  and  trustworthy  traditions,  were  united 
in  the  strongest  bonds  of  union  and  fellowship.  Services 
were  held  at  an  early  day,  at  Germantown,  Pa.,  where  the 
first  church  was  organized  in  1683,  and  at  Deep  Run,  not  less 
than  thirty  miles  distant,  and  also  at  Skippack,  or  w^hat  is  now 
known  as  Franconia,  where  the  writer,  above  quoted,  resided. 
The  ministers  from  the  different  churches  frequently  visited 
each  other  and  aided  them  in  their  services.  And  a  little 
later,  in  the  days  of  Christian  Funk,  who  was  a  son  of  Henry 
Funk,  and  ordained  to  the  office  of  Bishop  by  his  father  in 
1757,  only  three  years  before  he  (Henry)  died,  we  have 
written  evidence  of  the  warmest  co-operation  between  the 
several  churches  then  organized.  And  as  far  back  as  w^e  have 
any  tradition,  there  always  was  a  warm  intimacy  between  the 
churches  in  Conestoga,  (Lancaster  County)  and  those  of  Skip- 
pack  or  the  more  eastern  counties.  From  this  fact  we  may 
reasonably  conclude  that  if  the  brethren  of  that  day  main- 
tained such  a  warm  intimacy  between  themselves  in  their 
labors  and  efforts  to  build  Zion  and  extend  the  influence  of 


88  THE    MENNONITE    CHUKCH 

the  church,  they  must  have  been  of  the  same  mind,  taught  the 
same  things,  preached  the  same  doctrines,  and  lived  by  and 
practiced  the  same  rules. 

Another  proof  of  ttiis  exists  in  the  fact  that  in  1763,  three 
years  after  the  death  of  Henry  Funk,  his  writings  were  pub- 
lished. The  book  contains  309  large  pages,  and  was  well 
bound  in  leather,  and  must  have  in  that  day  cost  a  consider- 
ble  sum,  and  it  is  not  likely  that  the  book  would  have  been 
printed  if  there  had  not  been  manifested  a  demand  for  it. 
Had  Heni-y  Funk  not  been  a  teacher,  teaching  such  doctrines 
as  the  church — the  people  at  large — desired  and  believed  to 
be  good  and  profitable  for  the  brotherhood,  there  would  have 
been  no  demand  for  the  book.  Hence  we  have  here  a  testi- 
mony of  considerable  force,  showing  that  the  church  believed 
in,  and  had  a  desire  to  read  and  promulgate  just  such  a  doc- 
trine as  that  book  contains,  and  that  doctrine  is  certainly  the 
doctrine  of  the  Gospel,  and  as  a  certain  writer,  in  a  recent 
work  says,  contains  nothing  that  is  "  contrary  to  the  writings 
of  Menno  Simon." 

This  view  of  the  matter  is  also  confirmed  by  the  fact 
as  referred  to  above,  that  in  1744  the  "Mirror  of  Baptism" 
was  published,  and  in  1748  the  translation  and  publication  of 
the  large  Martyr's  Mirror  was  completed  at  Ephrata,  and  an 
edition  of  1,300  copies  circulated  in  a  very  short  period  of 
time.  When  we  consider  that  all  this  was  done  by  the  church 
in  America,  without  any  assistance  or  encouragement  from 
their  wealthier  brethren  in  Europe,  *  and  while  the  church 
here  was  comparatively  weak  and  possessed  of  small  means,  it 
does  not  show  as  though  either  the  ministers  or  the  church  at 
large,  could  have  been  so  unconcerned  about  the  welfare  of 
the  church  and  their  children  as  Musser  and  his  friends  desire 
to  make  it  appear.     On  the  contrary,  the  zeal  they  manifested 


*  In  fact  tbe.  brethren  in  Europe,  to  whom  they  had  written  for 
advice  on  the  subject,  delayed  their  answer  about  two  years,  and 
advised  them  not  to  undertake  the  publication  of  .so  expensive  a 
work. 


AND    HER    ACCUSERS.  39 

in  this  direction,  seems  to  show  much  more  that  both  ministers 
and  people,  were  especially  interested  in  the  work  of  the  Lord 
and  the  maintenance  and  promulgation  of  the  doctrine  they 
professed.  The  desire  manifested  for  the  circulation  of  these 
excellent  books  seem  also  to  bear  strong  testimony  of  a  true, 
spiritual  life.  If  they  were  what  they  are  represented  to  be, 
by  our  accusers,  then  it  seems  to  us  they  would  have  had  no 
taste  or  desire  for  the  class  of  reading  contained  in  these 
books.  The  carnal,  worldly-minded  man  would  care  very 
little  for  such  reading  as  is  contained  in  the  books  above 
referred  to. 

As  another  evidence  of  the  condition  of  the  church  about 
the  close  of  the  last  century,  and  just  before,  we  will  give  an 
extract  from  the  writings  of  Jacob  Stauffer,  who,  though  in 
after  years,  not  a  friend  of  the  Old  Mennonite  Church,  still  at 
this  time,  bears  an  excellent  testimony  in  her  favor,  which 
has  only  so  much  the  more  weight,  because  it  was  written 
at  a  time  when  his  prejudices  were  against  the  church.  If 
one  speaks  well  of  a  person  or  a  church  to  which  he  is  not 
friendly,  it  shows  that  there  must  be  an  undeniable  truth 
in  the  facts  presented,  which  an  honest  mind  will  not  allow 
even  prejudice  and  hatred  to  overcome  or  deny.  Stauffer* 
was  born  in  the  latter  part  of  the  eighteenth  century,  and 
lived  at  the  same  time  as  John  Herr,  and  hence  had  a  very 
good  opportunity  to  judge  from  the  testimony  of  the  older 
ministers  and  members,  of  the  character  and  condition  of 
the  church  during  the  latter  part  of  the  eighteenth  and 
the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth  centuries,  until  the  time 
of  his  death;  and  in  regard  to  this  subject,  says  Holdeman, 
''Hetorites  the  contrary,"  of  what  Musser  writes.  Accord- 
ing to  Stauffer's  writing  it  would  appear  that  the  corruption  of 
the  church  had  its  commencement  between  the  years  of  1800 
and  1830.  ''During  this  period,''  says  he  ''/Satan  sought 
to   bring  the  beautiful  and  prospering  church  into  cor- 

*From  John  Ilokleman's  History  of  the  Church  of  God. 


40  THE   MENNONITB    CHTIRCH. 

ruptionP  But  "during  these  years  there  were  still  many 
faithful  witnesses  in  the  church,  who  sought  to  avoid  every 
appearance  of  evil  (Thess.  5  :  22),  and  with  a  sincere  desire, 
through  prayers  and  supplications  continued  before  God,  and 
with  his  help  endeavored  to  walk  before  the  Lord,  in  faith- 
fulness, purity,  uprightness  and  love,  and  who  at  all  times 
testified  against  the  beforementioned  things  and  all  that  could 
serve  to  the  ruin,  corruption,  and  desolation  of  the  church,  m 
order  to  preserve  the  church  pure  and  separate  from  the 
world,  just  as  Jesus  ordained  and  called  her."  Stauffer's 
Chronik,  Pages  128  and  134. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

MARTIN    BOEHM's    DEPARTURE DOCTRINES    AND    PRACTICES    OP 

THE    CHURCH    SET    FORTH. 

We  now  present  our  readers  with  the  contents  of  an  old 
manuscript,  a  copy  of  a  statement  made  by  the  ministers  of 
the  Mennonite  Church  of  Lancaster  County  and  vicinity, 
about  one  hundred  years  ago,  giving  us  a  clear  represen- 
tation of  the  character  of  the  church  during  that  period  of 
time,  in  which  the  church,  is  said,  by  her  accusei's,  to  have 
had  so  far  departed  from  the  faith,  doctrine  and  practice  of 
the  old  fathers  of  the  church. 

We  regret  that  we  cannot  give  the  exact  date  of  the 
manuscript,  nor  the  names  of  the  bishops,  ministers  and 
deacons  who  constituted  the  Conference  which  acted  in  the 
matter.  But  the  fact  that  the  matter  was  brought  before 
the  Conference,  and  that  the  Conference  labored  to  effect 
a  reconciliation,  proves  that  the  Conference  was  united  in 
the  views  brought  out  by  the  manuscript,  and  that  we  may 
safely  accept  it  as  a  reflection  of  what  the  church,  in  that 
vicinity,  not  only  believed,  but  also  practiced. 

From  the  best  evidence  that  we  can  gather,  and  the 
inference  of  the  manuscript,  we  are  led  to  the  belief  that  these 
events  must  have  occurred  about  the  year  1775,  or  between 
17*75  and  17S0.  This  seems  to  be  indicated  by  the  reference 
in  the  beginning  of  the  manuscript,  to  war,  desolation,  famine 
and  sword  being  in  the  land  and  very  near  at  the  dooi*.  And 
also  from  the  fact  that  Christian  Kautfman,  in  his  relation 
as  given  by  Musser,  says,  "  He  had  some  acquaintance  with 
6 


42  THE    MENNONITE    CHURCH 

Martin  Boehm,  and  frequently  attended  his  preaching." 
Kauffnian  says  that  he  was  baptized  in  1Y80,  and  as  he  speaks 
of  Boehm  separately  from  the  Mennonites,  it  must  have 
been  after  Boehm  had  left  the  Mennonite  Church.  Hence 
Boehm  must  have  had  left  the  church,  at  all  events,  sometime 
previous  to  1780. 

This  manuscript,  though  not  written  in  very  good  style, 
shows  very  plainly,  not  only  what  the  church  at  that  time 
believed  and  taught,  but  also  what  she  practiced,  and  how 
she  held  transgressors,  and  in  what  manner  she  dealt  with 
them.  To  this  purpose  it  is  especially  valuable  at  this  time. 
It  is  throughout  a  very  cogent  argument  against  the  unjust 
and  indiscriminate  denunciations  of  our  accusers,  and  forms 
the  connecting  link  between  the  time  of  the  death  of  Plenry 
Funk  and  the  close  of  the  eighteenth  century.  It  reads  as 
follows: 

"  Since  the  great  God,  the  God  Shaddai,  the  Almighty, 
who  alone  is  good,  and  who  himself  is  love,  and  who,  through 
Jesus,  as  the  eternal  truth,  teaches  us,  that  as  we  discern  the 
signs  of  these  present  times,  so  we  should  also  discern  what  is 
right  for  us.  We  are  compelled  with  terror,  fear,  and  sorrow 
to  realize  what  Christ  taught,  that,  When  a  kingdom  is  divided 
against  itself,  it  comes  to  desolation;  and  a  house  divided 
against  itself  shall  not  stand.  This  desolation,  famine,  hunger 
and  pestilence,  with  the  sword  of  revenge,  exist  in  the  land, 
as  a  punishment  and  a  severe  judgment,  and  stand  before 
us  very  near  to  the  door,  and  all  this  exists  on  account  of  the 
great  sins  which  the  children  of  men  have  in  various  ways 
committed. 

"Experience,  however,  proves  that  the  sword,  war  and 
bloodshed  will  not  lead  men  to  unite  together  in  meekness, 
humility  and  love;  for  instead  of  love  and  faithfulness,  we 
find  that  pride,  covetousness,  deception,  and  back-biting,  have 
(not  by  all  but  by  many),  gained  a  powerful  hold.  But  that 
which  is  the  most  deplerable  is,  that  even  as  in  the  kingdom 
of  this  world,  there  is  discord,  confusion,  and  dissension,  so 


AND    HER    ACCUSERS.  43 


also  in  these  sad  times,  these  same  things  manifest  tliemselves 
among  those  of  the  same  faith,  and  those  who  should  teach 
the  same  things,  and  be  of  one  mind  in  Christ  Jesus,  and  for 
whom  Christ  himself  prayed  that  they  might  be  one,  as  he 
in  the  Father,  and  the  Father  in  him  are  one;  for  unity  and 
love  are  the  ensigns  of  the  children  of  God,  as  Christ  teaches, 
that  thereby  '  shall  all  men  know  that  ye  are  ray  disciples,  if 
ye  have  love  one  for  another.' 

"Now  while  the  enemy  of  peace  still  seeks  to  sow  abroad 
the  seeds  of  dissension  whereby  disunity  arises,  even  among 
those  who  profess  to  walk  in  the  narrow  way,  the  admonition 
of  the  apostle  to  the  Corinthians,  is  very  needful,  in  which  he 
says,  '  Now  I  beseech  you,  brethren,  by  the  name  of  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  that  ye  all  speak  the  same  thing,  and  that  there 
be  no  divisions  among  you;  but  that  ye  be  perfectly  joined 
together  in  the  same  mind,  and  in  the  same  judgment.' 
Because  he  had  learned  that  there  was  dissension  among  them, 
and  that  one  called  himself  by  this  name,  and  another  by  that 
n;ime,  he  gave  them  this  sharp  reproof  and  admonition,  that 
they  should  not  take  flesh  for  their  arm,  neither  put  their  trust 
in  men,  but  in  Jesus  alone,  who  was  crucified  for  us. 

"  Now,  however,  it  is  a  well  known  fact  that  between  us 
and  Martin  Boehm,  there  is,  in  many  points,  a  difference  of 
views,  and  we  have,  at  times,  for  several  years  already,  labored 
to  become  more  of  one  mind  and  to  understand  each  other 
better,  that  we  might  be  found  faithful  laborers  in  the  church 
of  Christ;  which,  however,  has  not  yet  been  accomplished, 
and  the  matter  has,  from  time  to  time,  become  worse. 

"For  the  reason,  however,  that  the  brotherhood  do  not 
possess  as  good  a  knowledge  of  the  cause  and  origin  of  this 
disagreement  between  us,  which  consists  in  many  things  both 
in  words  and  deeds,  as  we  do  (although  many  also  are  not 
entirely  unacquainted  with  it),  we  have  thought  it  prudent  to 
write  them  and  thus  explain  the  matter. 

"In  the  first  place,  in  that,  in  which  we  believe  that  he 
(Boehm)  erred  in  the  doctrine  of  Christ,  he  had  a  great  deal 


44  THE   MENNONITE    CHURCH 

to  do  witli  forming  a  union  and  associating  with  men  (pro- 
fessors) wliich  allow  themselves  to  walk  on  the  broad  way, 
practicing  warfare,  and  the  swearing  of  oaths;  both  of  which 
are  in  direct  opposition  to  the  truths  of  the  Gospel  and  the 
teachings  of  Christ. 

"In  the  second  place,  he  also  receives  such  persons  as 
were  under  church  censure,  or  not  in  good  report,  or  who 
were  from  one  i-eason  or  another  not  at  peace.  In  regai'd 
to  the  first  accusation,  it  was  believed  by  those  who  had  to  do 
with  the  matter,  that  it  was  not  proper  for  any  one  who  pro- 
fesses to  be  a  witness  of  the  truth,  so  to  do,  since  Christ 
teaches  us,  to  observe  all  things,  'whatsoever  he  commanded 
us;'  and  the  most  imponaijt  and  the  greatest  commandment 
which  God  gave  us  through  Jesus  Christ,  is,  'To  love  God 
with  all  our  hearts,'  and  where  such  love  exists  in  the  heart 
of  a  minister,  it  will  lead  him  to  show  men  the  errors  in  which 
they  stand. 

"  In  the  third  place,  in  regai'd  to  those  who  became  his 
followers  (of  such  as  were  under  censure),  or  whom  he 
received,  it  was  believed  that  if  he  had  rather  admonished 
them,  and  sought  to  convince  those  who  were  under  censure, 
of  their  sins,  whatever  they  might  have  been,  and  would  not 
have  received  their  complaints,  he  would  have  been  enabled  to 
do  more  good,  and  those  who  were  not  in  peace,  he  should  have 
directed  to  observe  the  rules  of  the  church,  and  exercise  the 
spirit  of  forgiveness;  and  if  both  he  and  we  give  the  same 
testimony  against  such  cases,  we  believe,  we  would  be  able 
to  accomplish  good  results  among  the  people. 

"Through  these  and  many  other  things  besides,  originat- 
ing from  an  exchange  of  views,  all  of  which  cannot  be  given 
here,  a  difference  has  arisen  between  us,  so  that  some  thought 
him  worthy  of  the  ban.  He  also  said  some  things  which 
caused  great  offense,  as  he  maintained  that  Satan  was  a  ben- 
efit to  men.  This  was  then  stated,  and  he  (Boehm)  was 
reproved,  and  was  advised  to  turn  back  in  true  repentance, 
and  recall  what  he  had  said.     We  believe  and  acknowledge 


AND  HEK  ACCUSEKS.  45 


that,  if  we  do  not,  according  to  the  teachings  of  Christ, 
endeavor  to  show  men  the  error  of  their  ways,  that  we  are  at 
fault.  We  did  not  mean  to  forbid  him  to  preach  ;  he  should 
have  liberty  to  preach  everywhere,  onlj  he  should  do  as  Christ 
teaches,  '  Teach  them  to  observe  all  things  whatsoever  I  have 
commanded  you,'  In  consideration  of  this,  those  who  were 
more  strongly  opposed  to  him,  agreed  with  those  who  advised 
this,  that  on  this  condition,  that  is,  if  he  should  obey  and  do  as 
he  was  advised,  they  would  be  satisfied.  If  he,  however, 
would  not  obey,  nor  do  as  he  was  advised,  they  would  hold 
him  as  before.  He  then  made  an  acknowledgment,  but 
not  such  an  acknowledgment  as  was  desired;  he  simply  said, 
in  substance,  That  he  knew  that  he  was  weak  and  imperfect, 
and  where  he  had  transgressed  against  the  gospel  he  was 
sorry  for  it.  But  that  which  was  really  the  cause  of  the 
offense  was  not  removed,  for  he  manifested  by  his  actions  that 
he  was  not  penitent,  as  he  did  afterwards  just  as  he  had  done 
before. 

"Thus  the  offense  remained  and  became  greater,  as  he 
added  other  offensive  expressions  to  those  already  given,  as 
before  intimated.  On  one  occasion  he  said,  among  other 
things,  in  a  public  discourse,  'The  Scriptures  might  be 
burned,'  for  at  that  time  there  was  much  talk  by  him  and 
those  like  him,  that  the  word  was  a  dead  letter. 

"His  first  declaration, 'That  Satan  was  good  and  beneficial 
to  man,'  was  contradicted  by  many,  because  Satan  is  the  great 
enemy  of  the  human  race,  and  through  hira  sin  and  entire 
corruption  was  brought  into  the  world,  and  it  required  the 
life  and  blood  of  Christ  again  to  release  us  from  the  power 
of  darkness. 

"In  regard  to  the  burning  of  the  Scriptures,  it  was  indeed 
admitted  that  paper  and  ink,  in  themselves,  were  dead  and 
might  be  burned;  but  the  word  in  itself  is,  as  Christ  teaches, 
'The  words  that  I  speak  unto  you,  they  are  Spirit,  and  they 
are  life;'  and  since  'man  lives  not  by  bread  alone,  but  by 
every  word  that  proceedeth  out  of  the  mouth  of  God,'  and  as 


46  THE   MENNONITE   CHURCH 

Jesus  himself  points  us  to  the  Scriptures,  he  says, 'He  that 
believeth  on  me,  as  the  Scripture  hath  said.  Out  of  his  belly 
shall  flow  rivers  of  living  water,'  and  since  the  Holy 
Scriptures  were  instituted  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  given  us  as 
Paul  says,  by  inspiration  of  God,  as  a  book  of  doctrine  and 
instructions,  such  expressions  are  improper,  and -should  not 
be  used. 

''  On  account  of  these  things  and  others,  all  of  which  can 
not  be  given  here,  he  (Boehm)  was  required  the  second  time 
to  make  an  acknowledgment;  and  since  he  had  not  done 
as  it  was  required  the  first  time,  it  was  done  this  time  with 
the  counsel  of  the  church.  It  was  required  that  he  should 
make  a  full  acknowledgment  of  the  charges  that  were 
brought  against  him;  and  if  he  should  obey,  they  would  all, 
according  to  the  teachings  of  the  Savior,  forgive  him  and  be 
satisfied.  Upon  this  he  made  a  partial  confession,  but  the 
chief  cause  of  offense  he  did  not  recall. 

"It  is  a  most  solemn  thought!  Some  of  the  aged  laborers 
who  were  not  satisfied  with  him,  have  passed  away,  and  we 
and  Boehm  are  also  on  the  way  to  eternity,  where  we  must 
all  appear  before  the  judgment  bar,  and  where  there  will  be 
no  difference  and  no  respect  of  person,  and  where  men  must 
give  an  account  of  every  idle  word  which  they  have  spoken. 
And  since  Boehm  after  this  acknowledgment  which  the 
church  required  of  him,  pursued  the  same  course  that  he  had 
before,  and  did  not  regard  the  advice  of  the  church,  we 
believe  that  we  and  the  church  both  erred,  and  did  not  keep 
ourselves  as  closely  to  the  word  as  we  should  have  done, 
although  not  entirely  without  cause,  for  we  continually  feared 
what  is  now  before  us,  a  division  in  the  church.  Efforts, 
however,  were  continually  made  to  bring  us  nearer  to  one 
mind,  and  to  understand  each  other  better,  and  sometimes  it  « 
seemed  as  though  he  would  yield,  but  after  all,  it  now  appears 
that  our  efforts  were  in  vain.  Sometimes  it  appeared  that  the 
more  we  withstood  him,  the  more  he  and  his  adherents 
opposed  us,  and  as  Paul  testifies,  it  is  now  manifest  that  in 


AND    HER   ACCUSEES.  47 


the  last  times  there  will  be  those  who  think  more  highly  of 
themselves  than  they  ought  to,  and  with  sorrow  we  must  see 
in  these  sorrowful  times  that  it  is  among  us,  as  Paul  long 
before,  through  the  Spirit  pointed  out,  when  he  says,  'Also 
of  your  own  selves  shall  men  arise,  speaking  perverse  things, 
to  draw  away  disciples  after  them.' 

"We  have  already  referred  to  the  perverse  words  which  he 
spoke,  but  this  was  not  all,  for  afterwards  he  said  other  things 
just  as  much  out  of  place  as  these;  for  he  acknowledges 
piablicly  and  maintains  that  faith  cometh  from  unbelief,  life 
from  death,  and  light  out  of  darkness.  But  when  he  tries  to 
explain  the  words,  he  points  to  how  man  by  sin  departed  from 
God,  and  God  from  him,  and  how  man  is  in  an  unhappy 
condition,  in  unbelief,  in  death,  and  in  darkness;  and  how 
God  through  Christ  must  again  release  man,  or  the  soul  of 
man  from  .the  power  of  darkness  ana  death,  and  how  Paul 
testifies  that  '  God  hath  concluded  them  all  in  unbelief,  that 
he  might  have  mercy  upon  all.'  With  such  arguments  as 
these  he  tries  to  prove  the  above  mentioned  assertions,  and 
to  show  that  they  are  true;  but  according  to  our  understand- 
ing of  the  matter,  it  is  impossible  to  accept  this  explanation 
as  correct. 

"It  is  incontrovertible  that  unbelief,  death,  and  darkness 
are  qualities  of  the  devil;  and  what  these  powers  produce, 
they  produce  in  accordance  with  the  qualities  they  themselves 
possess.  Boehm  does  not  ascribe  to  these  powers  that  they 
accomplish  these  things,  only  he  wants  to  maintain  that  thus 
it  is.  But  faith,  life,  and  light  are  attributes  of  the  invisible, 
living  God,  and  if  a  single  soul  becomes  enlightened,  believ- 
ing and  alive,  it  comes  from  him  whose  power  has  produced  it. 

"  Therefore,  when  Christ  was  asked,  'What  shall  we  do, 
that  we  may  work  the  works  of  God?'  Christ  said,  'This  is 
the  work  of  God,  that  ye.  believe  on  him  whom  he  hath  sent.' 
Faith,  therefore,  is  the  power  of  God  through  which  man 
turns  away  from  unrighteousness  to  righteousness,  of  which 
Paul  testifies,  That  those  who  believe  are  risen  with  Christ, 


48  THE    MENNONITE    CHUECH 

through  faith  which  God  worketh,  and  again,  that  Christ  is 
the  author  and  finislier  of  our  faith, 

"In  regard  to  the  saying,  that  life  cometh  out  of  death, 
Christ  teaches  us  that  as  the  Father  hath  life  in  himself,  so 
also  hath  he  given  to  the  Son  to  have  life  in  himself,  as  John, 
speaking  of  Christ  declares,  'In  Him  vi^as  life.'  And  John 
declares  that  '  We  know  that  we  have  passed  from  death  unto 
life.'  Paul  speaks  of  the  believers,  as  of  those  that  were 
dead  and  were  made  alive  ;  but  he  does  not  say  that  life 
cometh  from  death,  but  praises  God  for  his  great  love  that 
when  we  were  dead  in  sin,  he  with  Christ  made  us  alive,  and 
so  gives  God  the  glory  that  he,  through  Christ  did  this. 

"Finally,  concerning  the  declaration  that  light  cometh  out 
of  darkness,  John  testifies  that  'God  is  light,  and  in  him  is 
no  darkness.'  Therefore,  when  Paul  says,  that  'God  com- 
manded the  light  to  shine  out  of  darkness,'  he  did  not  say 
that  light  comes  from  darkness,  for  the  light  infallibly  must 
come  from  him,  who  commanded  it  to  shine  forth.  Christ 
teaches  us  that  he  is  the  light  of  the  world  and  that  whosoever 
believeth  in  him  may  not  be  in  darkness.  And  John  says  of 
Christ,  'In  him  was  life,  and  the  life  was  the  light  of  men. 
And  the  light  shineth  in  darkness:'  and  further,  'That  this 
was  the  true  light  which  lighteth  every  man  that  cometh  into 
the  world.'  Hence  we  acknowledge  that  we  believe  that  it 
is  improper  to  make  such  expressions  as  above  given,  for  they 
are  not  in  accordance  with  the  truth,  and  thereby  we  do  not 
give  to  God  the  glory  which  belongeth  to  him. 

"  It  was  ill  received  from  Moses  that  he  did  not  give  God 
the  glory  when  he  was  lo  smite  the  rock,  and  instead  of 
reverencing  the  name  of  God,  and  giving  him  the  glory,  and 
acknowledging  that  the  Lord  would  give  them  water,  he  spake 
unto  them,  'Must  we  fetch  you  water  out  of  this  rock?'  On 
account  of  this,  Moses  was  not  permitted  to  enter  the  prom- 
ised land. 

"  Hence  we  see  that  God  will  have  the  words  which  he 
commands  obeyed;  and  though  men  set  up  words,  the  inven- 


AND    HER   ACCUSERS.  49 


tion  of  human  reason,  which  contradict  the  teachings  of 
truth,  we  are  not  to  accept  them;  for  there  is  only  one  gos- 
pel, and  if  any  one  should  bring  us  another,  and  if  he  even 
were  an  angel  from  heaven,  we  are  admonished  not  to 
receive  it. 

"  We  also  have  to  say  that  at  times  the  rules  and  ordi- 
nances of  the  church  are  very  disrespectfully  spoken  of.  A 
complaint  was  brought  against  Boehm  and  testified  to  that  he 
had  said,  'That  the  old  men  (Bishops  and  ministers'),  or  men, 
lay  so  much  stress  upon  the  ordinances,  viz:  baptism  and 
communion,  and  the  people  are  thereby  only  led  to  the  devil 
and  not  to  God.'  Boehm,  however,  denied  it  with  the  words, 
'That  he  would  not  have  so  spoken.'  He  was  then  asked 
how  he  had  said?  He  answered,  'That  he  did  not  know  so 
well  any  more,  but  that  such  were  not  his  views,'  and  called 
upon  many  witnesses  who  said  that  he  had  not  so  spoken. 
The  question  now  arises  when  a  preacher  speaks  in  public 
meeting  and  makes  use  in  his  discourse,  of  words  that  are 
offensive,  and  there  are  two,  or  three,  or  more  witnesses  who 
testify  that  he  did  use  such  words,  whether  others  can  rise 
up  and  say  that  he  did  not  use  such  words.  We  think  it 
will  be  hard  for  them  to  do  so.  They  could  not  properly 
say  that  they  heard  or  understood  it.  We  will,  however, 
leave  these  witnesses  on  both-  sides  to  their  own  merits,  and 
give  that  which  we  ourselves  heard  from  his  own  lips;  for  as 
he  explained  himself  at  that  time,  upon  the  testimony,  as  to 
what  he  had  said,  he  expressed  himself  in  accordance  with 
his  belief,  and  had  no  reference  to  any  particular  people,  but 
spake  in  general  terms  of  the  world,  and  that  there  was  so 
much  stress  laid  upon  the  ordinances,  and  on  the  manner  in 
which  the  world  observe  these  ordinances,  they  lead  more 
to  the  devil  than  to  God. 

"  Now  the  question  is,  whether  the  ordinances  are  com- 
mands of  God  or  not?  Are  they  commands  of  God,  as  we 
believe  they  are,  it  is  very  ill  spoken  of  any  body  to  say  that 
they  lead   to   the   devil.     Our  God  is   good,   and  all   things 

7 


50  THE   MENNONITE    CHURCH 

that  come  from  him,  and  whatsoever  he  commands  is  good, 
even  as  He  is  good,  for  Christ  says.  '  The  Father  which  sent 
me,  gave  me  a  commandment  what  I  should  say,  and  wliat  I 
should  speak,  and  I  know  that  his  commandment  is  life  ever- 
lasting.' If  the  Father's  command  is  life  everlasting,  it 
follows  that  not  the  ordinances,  but  unbelief,  as  the  power 
of  Satan,  leads  men  to  eternal  ruin.  For  we  acknowledge 
that  the  ordinances  which  are  commanded  us  in  the  gospel 
are  only  types  and  guides  of  true,  spiritual  life,  for  the 
outward  baptism  of  wate;-  represents  spiritual  baptism,  and 
how  man  must,  through  faith  and  repentance,  die  unto  sin. 
The  suffering,  death,  burial,  and  resurrection  of  Jesus  rep- 
resents the  life  of  his  followers.  Thus  the  apostle  Paul 
makes  it  very  clear  when  he  says,  '  Know  ye  not  that  so  many 
of  us  as  were  baptized  into  Christ  Jesus,  were  baptized  into 
his  death?'  For  when  this  body  of  sin,  that  is,  the  sinful 
inclinations,  is  laid  aside,  then  we  are  buried  with  Christ;  then 
we  are  also  raised  up  with  Christ  to  a  new  life;  for  this  is 
the  fruit  of  the  death  of  Jesus,  that  we  thereby  are  redeemed 
from  the  power  of  darkness,  and  are  made  worthy  to  become 
children,  and  to  receive  the  Spirit  of  God,  and  this,  man 
should  be  taught,  that  he,  through  faith,  may  receive, 
make  a  covenant  with  God,  and  become  obedient  unto  him; 
not  any  longer  living  unto  himself,  but  unto  Him  who  died 
and  arose  from  the  dead  for  him;  and  this  is  the  answer  of  a 
good  conscience  toward  God,  and  this  is  what  Christ  teaches, 
when  he  commands  to  '  Teach  them  and  baptize  them.' 

"  Likewise  with  the  Communion  of  the  Lord's  Supper, 
and  the  command,  '  This  do  in  remembrance  of  me,'  by  which 
we  are  to  put  ourselves  in  remembrance  of  the  mercy,  and 
the  merits  of  Christ,  with  bread  and  wine,  which  represents 
the  communion  of  believers;  for  as  the  bread,  from  many 
particles  through  the  heat  of  fire,  is  made  into  one  bi-ead,  so, 
also  are  the  believers, ,  by  the  power  of  the  fire  of  the  love  of 
God  (since  they  in  a  spii-itual  manner  through  faith  partake 
of  the  true  bread  from    heaven,    which   is    Christ),  made  to 


AND    HER    ACCUSEKS.  51 

be  members  of  the  body  of  Christ,  These  may  then,  with 
uuderstauding  hearts  and  minds  of  faith,  thank  God  for  his 
kindness  and  mercy  which  he  accomplished  for  us  through 
Jesus  Christ,  whereunto  the  apostle  admonishes  the  believers, 
saying,  'Endeavoring  to  keep  the  unity  of  the  Spirit,  in  the  bond 
of  peace,  one  body  and  one  Spirit.'  Here,  hovvever,  a  man 
should  well  examine  himself  befoi-e  he  approaches  to  eat  of 
this  bread  and  to  drink  of  this  cup,  and  see  whether  he  loves 
God  or  the  world,  for  he  who  eateth  and  drinketh  unworthily, 
eateth  and  drinketh  to  himself  damnation.  But  open  sinners 
who  lead  a  carnal  life,  whereby,  as  Christ  teaches,  the  heart 
becomes  corrupted,  and  as  Paul  testifies  of  such  as  do  the 
works  of  the  flesh,  that  they  shall  not  inherit  the  kingdom  of 
God,  such  shall  be  expelled  from  the  communion  of  the  church. 
"For  this  purpose  the  ban  is  given  of  Christ  in  the  gos- 
pel, because  a  severe  condemnation  is  pronounced  against 
those  who  cause  offense,  and  he  commands  to  cut  off  offend- 
ing members.  Paul  also  says,  'Know  ye  not  that  a  little 
leaven  leaveneth  the  whole  lump?'  and  commands,  'Put 
away  from  among  yourselves  that  wicked  person.'  And  even 
as  all  the  ordinances  have  a  spiritual  signification,  so  also 
the  ban  serves  as  a  means  to  convince  of  sin,  him,  that 
through  transgression,  has  departed  from  God,  and  that  ne 
should  believe  that  it  is  the  will  of  God  that  man  should 
repent,  mourn  over  his  sins,  and  amend  his  life.  For  as  sin 
separates  from  God,  so  true  sorrow  for  sin  is  a  power  in  the 
hands  of  God,  by  which  man  is  again  reconciled  to  God,  and 
this  is  the  object  of  the  ban.  Likewise  it  is  with  all  the  ordi- 
nances, also  with  feet-washing,  which  represents  genuine 
humility,  and  to  this  he  would  direct  us  when  he  says,  '  If  ye 
know  these  things  happy  are  ye  if  ye  do  them.'  This  humil- 
ity is  founded  upon  Christ,  because  by  his  power  he  has 
washed  our  souls,  as  he  says  to  Peter,  'If  I  wash  thee  not, 
thou  hast  no  part  with  me.'  He  did  not,  by  this,  abolish  the 
outward  washing  of  feet,  but  commanded  it,  and  said,  '  Tf  I 
then   your  Lord  and  Master  have  washed  your  feet,  ye  also 


52  THE   MENTSrONITE    CHURCH 

ouglil  to  wash  one  another's  feet,  for  I  liave  given  you  an 
example  that  ye  should  do  as  I  have  done  unto  you;'  and  this 
is  therefore  a  commandment  of  Christ,  as  well  as  baptism  and- 
the  Lord's  Supper. 

"We  acknowledge,  therefore,  as  above  intimated,  that 
all  the  ordinances  lead  to  God  from  whence  they  came.  Paul 
testifies  to  this  and  says,  'Behold  Israel!'  God  commanded 
Israel  that  they  should  look  to  the  pillar  of  cloud  by  day,  and 
to  the  pillar  of  fire  by  night,  and  follow  them,  and  they 
should  be  brought  into  the  promised  land.  Since,  however, 
unbelief  was  so  great  tliat  they  in  unbelief  murmured  against 
God,  and  became  unfaithful  to  him,  they  had  to  peiish  in 
the  wilderness.  So  we  see  that  in  all  times,  unbelief  as  a 
power  of  Satan,  and  not  the  commandments  of  God,  robbed 
men  of  the  promises  of  God. 

"Now  we  know  to  lay  no  other  foundation  except  that 
is  laid  which  is  Jesus  Christ,  whereupon  the  whole  ground 
of  our  faith  rests,  and  not  upon  ordinances,  although  we 
acknowledge  them  as  the  commands  of  God.  We  hear  a 
great  deal  said  about  the  decline  of  the  church,  and  we  are 
greatly  slandered  on  account  of  the  ordinances,  as  though  we 
endeavored  to  satisfy  the  people  with  ordinances.  Which, 
however,  is  entirely  without  foundation.  It  is  very  true  that 
the  decline  in  the  church  is  great,  and  that  iniquity,  accord- 
ing to  Christ's  own  teaching,  abounds,  and  the  love  of  many 
waxes  cold,  but  truth  remaineth  truth  notwithstanding.  And 
disorder  will  not  abolish  order,  neither  will  unbelief  abolish 
faith,  and  as  we  see  the  injury  sustained  by  the  church,  we 
should  be  all  the  more  zealous  in  helping  each  other  to 
reprove  sin.  But  this  is  one  of  the  complaints,  besides  others, 
that  we  have  against  him  (Boehni),  that  too  many  things  are 
passed  over,  and  we  believe  it  would  be  better  for  all  if  we 
were  more  active  in  the  exercise  of  brotherly  reproof,  and 
to  show  the  erring  the  error  of  their  ways,  and  to  expel  those 
who  do  things  worthy  of  expulsion.  In  this  manner  we  might 
hope  to  be  able  to  accomplish  more,  and  obtain  God's  blessing 


AND    HER   ACCUSERS.  58 


in  a  larger  measure.  But  in  nearly  every  thing  he  has  his 
own  particular  way,  and  it  is  impossible  for  us  with  him  to 
preserve  the  established  order  in  the  church,  for  all  the  above 
given  points,  besides  many  others,  have  frequently  been 
contradicted  to  him;  but  it  is  plainly  to  be  seen  that  he  and 
those  with  him  have  attained  to  that  degree  of  wisdom  that 
it  seems  to  them  folly  for  any  one  to  oppose  their  views,  and, 
according  to  their  judgment,  all  that  is  brought  against 
them  is  either  a  want  of  charity  or  foolishness. 

"  Therefore  it  came  to  pass  that  at  a  certain  Conference 
of  ministers  and  deacons,  much  conversation  was  had  with 
him  upon  these  subjects,  for  the  pui-pose  of  convincing  him 
that  he  erred,  and  that  these  things  could  not  stand  before 
God,  but  it  was  labor  in  vain.  Finally  he  was  advised  by 
the  counsel  of  the  ministers  that  he  should  acknowledge  and 
recall,  with  true  sorrow  and  repentance,  all  that  was  held  as 
erroneous  in  him,  whether  by  word  or  deed,  and  should  unite 
as  one  with  us,  that  in  preserving  the  established  order  of 
the  church  we  might  work  together.  But  he  refused  to  do  so. 
He  said  he  could  not,  but  if  it  could  be  shown  him  that  he 
had  done  wrong,  he  would  recall;  and  he  brought  severe 
charges  against  a  number  of  the  ministers  and  deacons,  but  did 
not  manifest  so  much  charity  that  he  inquired  whether  it  was 
truth  or  not,  or  to  point  those  who  had  told  him,  to  the  rules 
and  order  of  the  church,  but  rather  sought  to  spread  it 
abroad  in  opposition  to  the  doctrines  of  Christ  which  teaches 
us,  first,  to  find  out  (the  truth ),  and  then  to  reprove.  After 
some  time,  two  brethren  were  again  sent  to  him  to  inquire 
of  him  whetHer  he  would  receive  the  reproof  and  make  his 
acknowledgment.  He  again  refused,  as  at  first,  and  mani- 
fested his  penitence  by  slander  and  abuse  against  the  minis- 
ters and  deacons,  and  on  account  of  the  manner  in  which  they 
dealt  with  him,  he  called  them  vain  and  light-minded  men. 

"We  herewith  inform  the  entire  brotherhood  that  these 
were  the  chief  reasons  of  difference  between  us  as  above  given, 
and  may  here  be  briefly  repeated. 


54  THE    MENNONITE    CHURCH 

1.  "Because  he  had  too  much  intercourse  and  fellowship 
with  men  (professors)  who  admit  and  allow  war,  and  the 
swearing  of  oaths;  and  because  these  are  directly  opposed  to 
the  teachings  of  Christ,  we  believe  that  it  is  good  for  us  to 
do  as  Christ  teaches  us,  that  is,  'Take  heed  that  no  man 
deceive  you,'  for,  'By  their  fruits'  says  he,  'ye  shall  know 
them;'  and  as  the  apostle  advises,  that  we  should  separate  our- 
selves, and  come  out  from  among  them,  and  be  a  witness 
against  them;  and  as  Christ  teaches,  'I  testify  of  the  world 
that  their  works  are  evil;'  and  that  we  teach  to  observe  all 
things  whatsoever  he  commanded  us. 

2.  "In  this  that  he  says,  that  Satan  is  a  benefit  to  man- 
kind, we  acknowledge  that  it  :s  a  falsehood;  for  Christ  said 
to  Peter,  when  he  advised  him  to  spare  himself  when  he 
speaks  of  his  suffering,  ' Get  thee  behind  me,  Satan;  thou  art 
an  offense  unto  me.'  Now  -if  the  advice  of  Satan  to  Christ, 
when  he  sought  to  hinder  him  in  fulfilling  his  Fathers  will, 
was  offensive  to  Christ,  we  may  well  say,  'If  they  do  these 
things  in  a  green  tree,  what  shall  be  done  in  the  dry?'  For 
he  is  our  adversary  seeking  whom  he  may  devour. 

3.  "And  in  regard  to  what  he  said.  That  we  might  burn 
the  Scriptures,  and  also  by  some  of  those  who  were  with  him, 
that  what  is  in  the  Bible  is  not  the  word  of  God,  we  have 
already  said  that  paper  and  ink  may  be  burned.  But  as 
Christ  declares  that  the  'Scripture  cannot  be  broken,'  it  is 
self-evident  also  that  they  cannot  be  burned.  Paul  says,  'All 
Scripture  is  given  by  inspiration  of  God,  and  is  profitable  for 
doctrine;'  and  further,  Christ  teaches  that,  Heaven  and  earth 
shall  pass  away,  but  my  word  shall  not  pass  a^vay;  and  again, 
Jesus  says  concerning  the  word,  'Thy  word  is  truth,'  and 
'  the  Father  which  sent  me,  he  gave  me  a  command- 
ment, what  I  should  say  and  what  I  should  do,  and  I 
know  that  his  command  is  life  everlasting.'  Now  if  the 
Father's  command,  which  Christ  speaketh,  is  in  the  gospel, 
then  it  also  contains  the  word  of  God,  which  Isaiah  says, 
'remaineth   forever,'   and   of   which   Peter    says,   that    'holy 


AND    HER    ACCUSERS.  55 

men  of  God  spake  as  they  were  moved  by  the  Holy  Ghost.' 
4.  "In  regard  to  the  expressions,  'That  faith  cometh 
from  unbelief,  life  out  of  death,  and  light  out  of  darkness;' 
we  need  only  consider  the  origin  of  each,  namely  of  faith, 
life  and  light,  or  from  whence  unbelief,  death  and  darkness 
come,  and  we  may  easily  decide  that  they  can  have  no  com- 
munion one  with  another;  and  concerning  the  ordinances, 
that  in  the  manner  in  which  the  world,  in  unbelief  practices 
them,  they  lead  more  to  the  devil  than  to  God,  we  confess 
that  all  things  that  come  from  God  are  good,  and  not  injuri- 
ous to  the  souls  of  men;  neither  will  they  lead  any  one  to 
Satan,  for  unbelief  is  Satan's  power, 

"  Thus  the  matter  stands  between  us,  and  such  are  the 
expressions  used  by  Boehm  and  his  followers,  and  we  believe 
as  we  have  confessed;  we  believe  it  is  safer  to  believe  the 
Holy  Scriptures  and  the  word  of  God  than  the  words  of  men; 
and  since  we  believe  that  Boehm  and  his  followers,  who 
acknowledge  such  doctrines  as  he  does,  are  in  error,  we  can 
not  otherwise  than  in  love  advise  them  to  return  and  believe, 
and  acknowledge  that  such  a  course  is  wrong.  Should  we, 
however,  be  in  error,  and  should  we  be  convinced  thereof  by 
the  Word,  we  will  willingly  turn  away  from  our  errors, 
acknowledge  our  faults  and  recall  them.  But  if  we  cannot 
be  convinced  by  the  Word,  that  we  are  in  error,  we  believe 
that  it  is  their  duty  to  acknowledge  their  error. 

"  If  they,  however,  refuse,  and  think  they  know  better  than 
we,  we  will  let  the  matter  rest  with  them  and  with  God. 
We  will  not  set  up  ourselves  as  judges,  but  only  as  witnesses 
against  it,  leaving  judgment  entirely  in  the  hands  of  God,  for 
we  do  not  desire  a  schism,  and  do  not  wish  to  be  the  cause  of 
one,  but  hope  to  remain  standing  upon  the  foundation  that 
has  been  laid  long  ago,  'For  other  foundation  can  no  man 
lay  than  that  is  laid,  which  is  Jesus  Christ;'  and  the  old  con- 
fession of  the  brethren  in  the  faith,  adopted  so  many  years 
ago,  which  we  acknowledge  that  it  is  founded  upon  the 
gospel;    and   we   will  seek,  by  the  help  and  grace    of  God, 


56  THE    MENNONITE    CHURCH 

according  to  the  measure  of  understanding  given  us,  to  direct 
and  govern  the  church  in  accordance  with  the  confession 
therein  contained,  to  which  we  sincerely  wish  the  grace  and 
blessing  of  God,  that  the  Lord  through  grace  by  Jesus  Christ 
may  add  his  blessing  thereto." 

In  an  additional  page  accompahying  the  old  manuscript 
from  which  the  foregoing  statement  was  taken,  it  is  further 
said,  that  on  account  of  the  foregoing  points  of  difference, 
the  church  could  no  longer  retain  Boehm  and  his  followers 
who  had  been  members  of  the  church,  as  brethren,  and  that 
they  should  be  excluded  from  the  communion  and  the  counsel 
of  the  brotherhood,  until  in  true  sorrow  and  penitence  they 
should  return  and  acknowledge  their  errors  both  to  God  and 
to  the  church. 

The  reader  will  observe  that  the  foregoing  statement 
of  the  doctrines,  teachings  and  practices  of  the  church,  in 
connection  with  their  dealings  with  a  disobedient  member  or 
minister,  afford  us  a  very  excellent  testimony  of  the  fact  that 
the  ministers  and  bishops  of  that  day,  were  men  who  fully 
comprehended  the  responsibility  of  the  important  charge 
with  which  they  were  intrusted.  That  they  watched  over  the 
flock  of  God,  with  fatherly  care  and  took  cognizance,  not 
only  of  the  unallowable  conduct  of  the  members,  but  also  of 
the  doctrine  they  taught,  and  this  was  right;  we  should  guard 
the  doctrines  and  the  teachings  of  our  church  with  zealous 
care.  When  we  carefully  examine  the  doctrines  and  teachings 
which  are  here  set  forth,  we  will  find  them  in  exact  accordance 
with  the  word  of  Got),  and  when  we  consider  again  that  the 
foregoing  manuscript  contains  the  views  and  sentiments  of 
th«  Conference  of  the  ministers  and  deacons  of  Lancaster 
_County,  and  thus  reflects  the  doctrines,  teachings  and  prac- 
tices of  the  entire  church,  as  a  body,  we  at  once  see  liow 
widely,  the  view,  which  we  here  obtain,  differs  from  that  given 
by  D.  Musser.  If  these  representations  of  the  church  had 
been  written  in  a  different  locality,  and  by  men  of  a  different 
church,  and  describing  a  different  people,  we  might  suppose 


AND    HER    ACCUSERS.  6*1 


that  in  the  two  churches  set  forth,  a  different  state  of  affairs 
raiglit  have  existed,  but  Musser's  writings  describe  the  same 
people,  the  same  church,  the  game  ministers  and  bishops,  who 
produced  the  foregoing  statement,  who  held  and  taught  the 
doctrines  set  forth  therein,  and  who  manifested  such  a  zeal 
for  the  truth  and  gospel  order  in  the  church. 

But  it  may  be  said  that  this  difference  may  be  reconciled 
by  the  fact  that  Musser's  representations,  may  cover  a  later 
period  of  time,  and  that  the  church  may  have  deteriorated 
and  become  corrupt.  But  in  answer  to  this,  we  remark  that 
this  manuscript  was  written,  without  doubt,  about  the  year 
1775,  as  shown  above,  and  Musser  says  that  long  before  the 
close  of  the  eighteenth  century,  the  church  "had  very  widely 
departed  from  the  faith  and  practice  of  Menno  and  his 
brethren."  In  the  year  1800  he  positively  declares  the  Old 
Mennouite  Church  dead,  and  in  1811-12  the  Reformed 
Church,  under  John  Herr,  was  organized.  Now  if  the  church 
in  1800  and  later  was  a  dead  churcli,  and  long  before  1800 
"had  very  widely  de2:)arted  from  the  faith  and  practice  of 
Menno  and  his  brethren,"  she  must  have  been  already  dead, 
or  at  least  in  a  dying  condition,  when  Boehm  for  disobedience 
and  false  doctrine  was  expelled,  and  Burkholder  wrote  his 
article  on  "Repentance"  in  1792,  as  will  appear  hereafter. 
But  the  foregoing  testimonies  already  plainly  show  a  differ- 
ent state  of  things.  Let  the  kind  reader  reflect,  compare 
these  facts,  and  decide  for  himself. 

In  addition  to  the  foregoing,  we  have  another  manuscript 
by  a  minister  in  another  part  of  the  State,  but  who  lived  and 
labored  at  the  same  time  in  which  the  foregoing  was  written, 
and  bears  testimony  to  the  same  unchangeable  gospel  truths 
contained  in  all  the  writings  of  our  ministers  of  that  period, 
which  we  have  had  the  opportunity  to  examine.  It  is  a 
remarkable  fact  which  the  careful  reader  will  not  fail  to 
notice,  that  all  our  older  ministers,  each  one  according  to  the 
gift  which  he  possessed,  taught  the  same  doctrine.  Though 
they  have  written   on  different  subjects  and  at  different  times, 


58  THE    MKNNONITE    CHURCH 

the  same  fundamental  truths,  the  same  views  and  sentiments 
underlie  and   pervade  all  of  them. 

What  a  beautiful  illustration  we  have  here  of  the  instruc- 
tions of  the  apostle  when  he  admonishes  his  brethren  in  his 
Corinthian  letter,  that  they  should  "all  speak  the  same  thing," 
and  this,  in  itself,  is  an  additional  evidence  that  they  were 
really  ministers  of  the  true  church  of  Christ.  Had  they  not 
been  moved  by  the  Spirit  of  Christ,  they  would  hardly  have 
manifested  such  oneness  of  dectrine  throughout  all  their 
teachings  and  writings,  neither  would  they  have  been  so  care- 
ful to  guard  against  false  doctrine  as  we  have  seen  that  they 
were,  from  the  foregoing  manuscript. 

The  Author  of  the  manuscript  from  which  the  following 
extract  is  taken,  is  not  definitely  known,  but  we  have  evidence 
suflicient  to  determine  that  it  was  written  either  by  Christian 
Funk  or  Christian  Holdeman,  both  of  whom  were  ministers, 
and  we  think,  bishops,  in  the  Mennonite  church.  Christian 
Holdeman  lived  in  Upper  Salford  Township,  Montgomery  Co., 
Pa.,  and  Christian  Fuuk  in  Chester  Co.,  where  he  died  in 
the  preacher's  desk  in  the  church.  The  manuscript  bears  date 
March  31st,  1Y82,  and  gives  an  account,  chiefly  of  the  his- 
torical events  of  the  Old  Testament  from  Adam  to  David,  and 
then  after  referring  to  the  way  of  salvation  as  taught  bv  our 
Savior,  and  the  institution  of  the  gospel  dispensation,  he  says, 
"  True  Christians  seek  to  walk  in  the  ways  and  follow  the 
footsteps  of  Jesus  which  are,  love,  joy,  peace,  long-suffering, 
gentleness,  goodness,  faith,  meekness,  compassion  ;  patient 
in  suffering,  not  seeking  to  avenge  themselves,  not  proud,  but 
lowly,  humble;  not  avaricious,  not  seeking  honor  or  high 
places  or  offices  in  the  world,  but  rather  seek  after  God;  and 
yield  themselves  willingly  under  the  banner  of  the  cross  of 
Christ.  They  give  to  Caesar  the  things  that  are  Caesar's,  and  to 
God  the  things  which  are  God's  They  do  not  exalt  themselves 
against  the  word  of  God,  but  bear  all  with  meekness  and 
patience.  The  children  of  this  world  (or  aiiti-Christ)  are  not 
thus   minded,   but   seek   to   avenge  themselves,   are  given  to 


AND    HER    ACCUSERS.  59 

iinger,  hatred,  disobedient  to  the  word  of  God,  cui-se  and 
swear,  rob  and  steal  from  their  fellow  men  that  which  be- 
longs to  them  (their  fellow  men),  form  themselves  into  sects 
and  persecute  and  oppress  those  who  are  under  their  power. 
&c.,  &G. 


CHAPTER  V. 

TESTIMONIES    FROM    THE  WRITINGS    OP    CHRISTIAN  BURKHOLDER 

ON    REPENTANCE,  REFLECTIONS,  &C. 

We  shall  now  proceed  to  show  that  the  doctrines  and 
practices  of  the  church  towards  the  close  of  the  last,  and  the 
early  part  of  the  present  century,  harmonized  with  and  were 
the  same  as  those  taught  and  practiced  in  the  earlier  portions 
of  the  last  century. 

One  of  the  principle  accusations  brought  by  Musser  against 
the  Old  Mennonite  Church,  as  the  reader  will  have  observed 
above,  is,  that  the  Mennonite  church  was  a  de<id  church; 
that  repentance  was  neither  understood  nor  taught^  and 
that  both  ministers  and  people  were  unconverted,  unregener- 
ated  and  carnal  professors.  From  the  writings  of  Henry 
Funk  we  have  seen,  that  in  his  time,  this  could  not  have 
been  the  case,  and  according  to  all  the  testimonies  we  have 
(and  our  testimony  is  quite  full  and  very  positive  and  clear), 
we  must,  if  we  would  judge  impartially,  conclude,  that  there 
was  but  very  little  change  in  the  spiritual  condition  of  the 
church  from  the  time  in  which  Henry  Funk  lived,  to  the  close 
of  the  eighteenth  century.  And  now,  to  confirm  the  above 
assertion,  and  to  give  further  proof  of  the  condition  of  the 
church,  in  the  time,  in  which  both  Musser  and  Herr  bring 
their  accusations  against  her,  we  here  present  to  the  reader 
an  address  on  this  very  subject,  viz:  "Repentance,"  written 
during  the  latter  part  of  the  eighteenth  century,  that  is,  previ- 
ous to  1792,  by  Christian  Burkholder,  one  of  the  ministers  of 
this  so-called  dead  church,  residing  in  the  very  neighborhood 


AND  HER  ACCUSERS.  61 


where  this  undesirable  condition  of  things  is  said  to  have 
existed. 

Christian  Burkhohler  was  a  minister  of  the  Mennonite 
church,  residing  in  the  vicinity  of  New  Holland,  Lancaster 
Co.,  Pa.,  and  wi'Ote  a  small  book  in  which  we  find  articles  or 
addresses  to  the  young  or  rising  generation  on  the  following 
subjects:  "True  Repentance,''  "Pure  love  to  God  and  our 
neighbor,"  "Obedience  to  the  word  of  God  and  a  full  sur- 
render of  the  soul  into  his  hands,"  &g.  These  articles  were 
written  with  and  by  the  consent  of  the  church  The  preface 
to  these  articles  is  dated  Feb.  21st,  1792,  and  were  first  pub- 
lished in  1804,  and  in  the  same  year  reprinted  at  Ephrata, 
and  again  in  1829.  They  were  finally  added  to  our  confession 
of  faith,  and  have  at  this  day  a  wide  circulation.  The  fact 
that  these  were  written  by,  and  with  the  consent  of  the  church, 
and  that  two  editions  were  required  in  the  same  year  to  sup- 
ply the  demand,  shows  that  the  church  believed  and  accepted 
the  doctrine  taught  therein,  and  that  there  was  a  desire  for 
just  such  teachings  as  these  instructions  contain,  which 
would  not  have  been  the  case  if  the  church  was  a  dead  and 
unconverted  church.  Let  us  now  examine  his  views  on  the 
doctrine  of  Repentance. 

"  Repentance  is  the  first  command  of  Christ,  as  is  to  be 
seen  Matt.  4  :  17.  From  that  time  Jesus  began  to  preach  and 
to  say,  'Repent:  for  the  kingdom  of  heaven  is  at  hand.'  But 
this  is  not  merely  his  first  command — his  first  command  to  his 
disciples — but  also  his  last,  as  is  to  be  seen  in  Luke  24:  46,  47; 
where  he  opened  unto  them  the  Scriptures,  and  said :  '  Thus  it 
behooved  Christ  to  suffer,  that  repentance  and  remission  of 
sins  should  be  preached  in  his  name,'  &c.  This  command  the 
apostles  were  to  proclaim  to  all  men,  'And  now  he  com- 
mandeth  all  men  every  where  to  repent.'     Acts  17  :  30. 

"Thus  it  is  indisputable  that  all  men  need  repentance, 
as  they  have  all  sinned,  are  children  of  wrath,  and  by  nature 
carnally  and  earthly  minded.  Yea,  in  this  state  our  hearts 
are  a  desert,  overgrown    with  thistles  and  thorns  ;  and  into 


62  THE   MENNONITE   CHURCH 

this  desert  comes  the  voice  of  the  preacher :  '  Prepare  ye  the 
way  of  the  Lord,  make  his  paths  straight,'  Luke  ;5:  4,  This 
is  the  voice  of  true  repentance — the  voice  unce  addressed  to 
Adam,  when  the  Lord  said  :  'Where  art  thou?'  Whereupon 
the  soul  answers  :  'I  hear  thy  voice,  and  am  afraid,  because  I 
am  naked.' 

"  Thus  man  is  brought  to  a  proper  sense  of  himself,  by 
the  quickening  power  of  the  word  of  God,  so  that  he  learns 
to  know  himself  with  all  his  inherent  defects.  Yea,  hereby 
he  is  brouglit  to  'acknowledge  his  transgressions,  and  his  sins 
are  ever  before  him.'  Psalm  51:  3.  Yea,  to  one  who  is 
penitent,  every  thing  becomes  a  burden,  and  every  thing  sinful 
a  great  sin.  'He  is  bowed  doMm  greatly;  and  goes  mourn- 
ing all  the  day  long.'     Psalm  38  :  6. 

"  Greatly  afflicted  and  troubled  is  a  penitent  soul,  if  she 
somewhat  delights  in  the  pleasures  of  youth,  .and  then  retires 
to  solitude.  This  becomes,  as  it  were,  a  hell  to  her  con- 
science, and  she  is  ready  to  cry  out  :  '  O  what  have  I  done  ! 
O  wretched  man  that  I  am  ! '  Thus  looking  upon  the  tree  of 
nature  as  one  that  bringelh  forth  no  good  fruit ;  as  one  con- 
cerning which  the  preacher  of  repentance  says  :  '  Cut  it  down, 
why  cumbereth  it  the  ground  ?  '  Luke  13:  7.  'Every  tree, 
therefore,  which  bringeth  not  forth  good  fruit  is  hewn  down, 
and  cast  into  the  fire.'     Luke  3  :  9. 

"  Man  carnally  minded,  or  in  a  state  of  nature,  is  com- 
pared to  the  'vine  of  Sodom,  and  of  the  fields  of  Gomorrah;' 
whose  'grapes  are  of  gall,'  and  whose '  clusters  are  bitter ;'  whose 
wine  is  the  '  poison  of  dragons,  and  the  cruel  venom  of  asps.' 
Deut.  32:  32,  33. 

"  The  Lord,  in  alluding  to  the  disobedience  and  wicked- 
ness of  the  children  of  Israel  (Deut.  32  :  23),  says  :  'I  will 
heap  mischiefs  upon  them  ;  I  will  spend  mine  arrows  upon 
them.'  Thus  speaks  and  feels  a  person  who  has  come  to 
a  knowledge  of  his  sins;  his  heart  is  tender  as  melted  wax; 
he  is  penitent;  he  is  heartily  sorry,  that  so  much  evil  cleaves 
unto  him;  for  when  he  wants  to  do  'good,  evil  is  present  with 


AND    HER    ACCUSERS.  63 


him.'  But  his  being  in  possession  of  this  knowledge,  is  not 
yet  sufficient.  For  John  the  Baptist  says  :  'Bring  forth  there- 
fore fruits  meet  for  re])entance.'     Matt.  3  :  8. 

"The  fruit  of  true  repentance  grows  in  a  change  of 
heart,  for  the  heart  of  man  by  nature,  is  proud  and  conceited; 
but  the  heart  of  a  penitent  is  humble  and  contrite;  and  as 
the  heart  is,  so  is  the  fruit  thereof.  It  moreover  'sets  its 
affections  on  things  above,  and  not  on  things  beneath,'  Col. 
3:2.  In  short,  it  imitates  the  virtues  of  our  Savior  while  on 
earth,  who  himself  declared  that  he  was  '  meek  and  lowly  in 
heart.'  Matt.  11:  29.  And  here  it  may  be  remarked,  that  a 
person  who  is  'meek  and  lowly  in  heart,  cannot  bring  forth 
fruit  that  has  externally  the  appearance  of  pride,  whether  it 
be  in  words,  actions,  or  the  'putting  on  of  apparel.'  1  Pet.  3: 
3.  'For  in  pride  is  destruction  and  much  trouble.'  Tobit.  4: 
13.  But  when  further  the  heart  is  filled  with  the  meekness  of 
Christ,  it  bespeaks  a  good  tree  (Matt.  12  :  33),  while  on  the 
other  hand,  evil  fruit  grows  out  of  evil  seed  which  the  enemy 
has  sown  into  the  human  heart  by  means  of  the  senses  and 
thoughts;  whereby  much  evil  fruit  has  been  brought  forth; 
particularly  in  reference  to  the  lusts  of  incontinence,  with 
which  poor  man  is,  as  it  were,  intoxicated. 

"True  repentance  is  further  very  necessary;  yea,  'fruits 
meet  forrepentance  ; '  whereby  an  entire  change  for  the  better 
takes  place — whereby  we  come  to  a  pious  and  virtuous  course 
of  life;  so  that  we  do  no  more  that  which  we  were  wont  to  do 
in  our  former  sinful  course  of  life.  The  grace  and  power, 
however,  of  leaving  off  a  wicked  course  of  life,  and  leading  a 
pious  life,  as  just  stated,  must  be  obtained  of  the  Lord, 
through  earnest  prayer  day  and  night.  Good  resolutions 
alone  are  not  sufficient  for  this  purpose;  for  it  is  the  'goodness 
of  God  that  leadeth  us  to  repentance.'     Rom.  2:  4. 

"We  have  moreover  to  take  care,  that  we  do  not  '  after 
our  hardness  and  impenitent  hearts,  treasure  up  unto  ourselves 
wrath  against  the  day  of  wrath  and  revelation  of  the  right- 
eous judgment  of  God.'     For  in  true  repentance  we  are  sub- 


64  THE   MENNONITE   CHtJECS 

ject  to  great  temptations,  as  the  enemy  assails  us  in  many 
different  ways.  At  times  it  appears  to  us,  that  at  no  time 
more  sinful  and  adverse  things  have  come  into  our  way,  than 
just  now  that  we  are  resolved  to  amend  our  lives.  We  are 
ridiculed  by  the  world;  of  others  we  see  bad  examples.  Again 
the  enemy  tempts  us  with  self-exaltation,  trying  to  jjersuade 
us  that  we  have  had  much  experience — much  more  than  we 
really  have  had;  that  we  are  far  advanced  in  the"  divine  life, 
&c.  In  short,  he  tempts  us  in  every  way.  But  the  weapons 
of  our  'warfare  are  not  carnal,  but  mighty  through  God  to 
the  pulling  down  of  strong  holds,  and  bringing  into  captivity 
every  thought  to  the  obedience  of  Christ.'  2  Cor.  10  :  4,  5. 
For  he  who  yields  obedience  to  Christ,  endeavors  to  '  keep  his 
word.'     Luke  11  :  28. 

"A  person  who  labors  under  temptation,  does  well  if  he 
diligently  takes  heed  to  the  word  of  God,  as  '  unto  a  light  that 
shineth  in  a  dark  place,  until  the  day  dawn,  and  the  day-star 
arise  in  his  heart.'  2  Pet.  1:  19.  For  the  Lord  says:  'Because 
thou  hast  kept  the  word  of  my  patience,  I  also  will  keep  thee 
from  the  hour  of  temptation,  which  shall  come  upon  the 
world,  to  try  them  that  dwell  upon  the  earth.'     Rev.  3  :   10. 

"  The  whole  work  of  regeneration,  or  the  new  birth, 
grounds  itself  on  true  repentance  ;  and  penitent  souls  '  love 
one  another  with  a  pure  heart  fei'vently.  being  born  again  not 
of  corruptible  seed,  but  of  incorruptible,  by  the  word  of  God, 
which  liveth  and  abideth  forever.'     1  Pet.  1:  22,  23, 

"To  a  penitent  the  word  of  God  becomes  life  and  light 
in  the  soul.  He  who  listens  to  it,  becomes  thereby  changed 
in  heart — converted;  namely,  from  pride  to  humility;  from 
incontinence  to  chastity;  from  hatred  to  love;  from  covet- 
ousness  to  liberality;  from  the  habit  of  lying  and  cheating  to 
truth  and  honesty.  Yea,  he  is  thus  transformed  from  dark- 
ness into  light;  rescued  from  the  power  of  Satan,  and  con- 
verted to  God.  This,  dear  reader,  is  what  is  produced  by 
'fruits  meet  for  repentance.'  " 

In   his  address  on  Saving  Faith,  on   page  193,  the  same 


AND  HEK  ACCUSERS.  65 


author  says  :  "  God  is  an  invisible  mighty  Being,  and  speaks 
through  his  Holy  Spirit,  to  many  a  soul  in  secret,  in  order 
to  reprove  it,  and  convince  it  of  sin  and  the  depravity  of 
its  nature,  and  after  repentance  again  to  comfort  it.  Yea, 
this  is  the  case  even  with  such  souls  as  have  not  the  Script- 
ures, or  cannot  read  them.  But  the  convictions  of  such  souls 
agree  with  the  doctrines  of  the  Son  of  God  and  that  of  his 
apostles  ;  for  the  teachings  of  the  Spirit  of  God  agree  with 
these  doctrines.  Therefore  Scripture  is  not  to  be  set  aside^ 
for  it  is  with  it  as  with  natural  food  :  this  appears  before  our 
eyes  to  be  dead,  and  yet  there  is  a  power  in  it,  whereby  our 
natural  life  is  preserved.  If  we  however  do  not  relish  such 
food,  it  follows  that  we  are  not  in  health.  And  so  it  is 
with  the  word  of  God.  If  we  do  not  enjoy  its  precious  con- 
tents, it  follows  that  we  are  yet  in  a  state  of  spiritual  disease, 
if  not  dead — dead  in  sin. 

"Another  means  of  becoming  strengthened  in  faith  is 
earnest  prayer  to  God.  Of  this  means  the  disciples  of  our 
Lord  made  use  in  their  weakness.  They  went  to  Jesus  and 
prayed:  'Lord  increase  our  faith.'  Luke  17  :  5.  So  the 
father  of  the  child  which  had  a  dumb  spirit  cried  out,  and 
said  with  tears,  '  Loi'd,  I  believe ;  help  thou  mine  unbelief.' 
Mark  9  :  24.  So  again  the  disciples,  to  whom  we  just  alluded, 
although  they  at  all  times  believed  and  acknowledged,  that 
Christ  was  the  Son  of  the  living  God,  yet  were  they  some- 
times, in  times  of  necessity,  of  '  small  faith.'  "  In  the  fore- 
going passages,  the  writer  would  show  how  needful  it  is  that 
we,  too,  should  exercise  ourselves  in  prayer  that  we  may  be 
strong  in  faith.  He  says  further  :  "  But  how  weak  are  we 
in  faith  in  our  time  !  Yea,  I  fear  that  our  faith  is  in  many 
respects  too  weak — that  if  we  were  put  to  the  test,  it  would 
be  found   wanting." 

"The  Savior  says:  'When  the  Son  of  man  cometh,  shall 
he  find  faith  on  the  earth?'  Luke'18  :  8,  Indeed  every  body 
believes  and  confesses,  that  there  is  an  invisible  Divine  Power, 
which  'created  every  thing,  and    preserves  every  thing  ,  and 

9 


66  THE   MENNONITE    CHURCH 


that  Jesus  Christ  is  the  only  Son  of  God,  conceived  by  the 
Holy  Ghost,  and  born  of  the  Virgin  Mary,  &c.  But  what 
does  it  help  us  if  we  embrace  and  adhere  to  such  confession 
of  faith,  and  yet  lead  a  heathenish  course  of  life,  in  all  kinds 
of  sin  and  wickedness?  'What  does  it  profit,  my  brethren, 
though  a  man  say  he  hath  faith,  and  have  not  works  ?  Can 
faith  save  him?'     James  2  :  14. 

"  True  faith  leads  us  into  a  state  of  self-denial — a  state 
in  which  we  follow  Christ,  as  did  his  faithful  followers  in 
the  time  of  his  incarnation.  Yea,  hei-e  a  faith  is  required 
that  '  worketh  by  love;'  a  faith  whereby  we  become  'justi- 
fied,' and  obtain  '  peace  with  God,  through  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ.'  Rom.  4  :  1,  2.  Yea,  a  faith  which  has  for  its  foun- 
dation the  word  of  God  ;  which  '  word '  the  apostle  says,  '  is 
nigh  thee,  even  in  thy  mouth,  and  in  thy  heart  ;  thai  is,  the 
word  of  faith,  which  we  preach.'"     Rom.  10  :  8. 

"  Through  faith  we  obtain  the  pardon  of  our  sins,  and 
salvation  through  the  blood  of  Christ."  "  A  person  who 
has  received  a  new  heart,  also  speaks  with  a  new  tongue." 
"  An  impenitent  heart  is  a  breeding  nest  of  this  jsoison  and 
seed  of  servients  ;  which  may  however  be  expelled  by  faith 
and  repentance.  Flee  therefore  from  sin,  as  you  would  flee 
from  a  serpent.  For  it  is  a  deadly  draught  to  the  soul ;  which 
may  occasion  its  disease,  if  not  death.''  "  But  Christ  is  the 
proper  destroyer  of  serpents.  *  *  *  Through  faith  in  him 
and  his  word,  the  serpents,  with  their  tricks  and  wiles,  are 
expelled  from  the  heait ;  and  when  the  hands  of  faith  are 
laid   upon  the  sin-sick  soul,  it  will  recover." 

"  Now  my  dear  young  hearts,  if  the  word  of  God  binds 
us  so  closely,  to  love  him  as  our  Creator,  '  with  all  our  heart, 
and  with  all  our  strength,'  there  remains  nothing  of  our 
heart  wherewith  to  love  the  vanities  and  pleasures  of  this 
world  ;  such  as  the  '  lust  of  the  flesh,  and  the  lust  of  the  eyes, 
and  the  pride  of  life ; '  for  '  if  any  man  love  the  world,  the 
love  of  the  Father  is  not  in  him.'  1  John  1:15.  Therefore 
let   every  one  well    distinguish    whether    he  is  actuated    by 


AND    HEK    ACCUSERS.  67 

the  love  of  God  or  by  the  impure  love  and  lusts  of 
nature." 

"  He  who  lives  in  '  envy,  hatred,  wrath,  and  strife,'  gen- 
erally lives  in  a  state  of  self-righteousness, — thinking  that 
he  has  a  right  to  speak  and  act  as  he  does,  and  this  false 
righteousness  keeps  him  in  his  sinful  course  of  life.  For  did 
he  believe  in  regard  to  himself,  that  his  conduct  was  '  earthly, 
sensual,  and  devilish,'  it  is  impossible  that  he  could  live  on 
from^year  to^year  in  '  wrath  and  strife.'  For  the  apostle  also 
says  :  '  They  whicli  do  these  things  shall  not  inherit  the  king- 
dom of  God.'"     Gal.  5  :  21. 

We  feel  that  our  extracts  from  this  work  have  been  ample 
to  give  the  reader  a  good  idea  of  the  teachings  of  this  author, 
and  any  one  who  is  not  fully  satisfied  from  these  extracts, 
will  find  it  of  advantage  to  read  it  in  full  in  the,  "  Conversa- 
tion of  Saving  Faith."  He  further  admonishes  against  hatred, 
uncharitableness  towards  brethren  and  neighbors  ;  against 
falsehood,  ridicule,  slanderous  and  vain  conversation,  vain 
and  idle  company  ;  against  all  evil  desires  and  fleshly  lusts, 
dissensions  in  the  church;  against  seeking  revenge,  in  any 
manner,  of  ^'those  who  in  any  wise  have  injured  us  ;  in  short, 
we  believe  that  in  his  several  addresses,  he  covered  the  whole 
ground  of  Christian  doctrine  .and  practice,  and  any  one  fol- 
lowing the  teachings  which  he  gives,  and  avoiding  the  sins 
and  snares  which  he  points  out  and  MMrns  us  against,  will 
be  a  true  Christian  and  an  heir  of  heaven. 

Now  these  teachings,  doctrines  and  instructions  were 
written  and  published  with  and  by  the  consent  of  the  churches, 
and  were  acknowledged  and  accepted  by  the  signatures  of 
twenty-seven  ministers  and  deacons  in  the  name  of  the  whole 
church,  which  shows  very  conclusively  that  the  church 
accepted, ^esteemed  and  maintained  the  genuine  doctrine  and 
practice  of  the  Gosjjel.  Let  the  kind  reader  consider,  and 
judge  with  an  unbiased  mind,  whether,  in  view  of  these 
things,  the  accusations  of  Musser  show  any  plausibility  of 
truth. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

EXTRACTS    FROM    THE    WRITINGS    OF    PETER    BURKHOLDER    AND 
ABRAHAM    GODSHALK,    WITH    REMARKS. 

We  will  here  present  the  reader  with  a  number  of  extracts 
from  the  writings  of  Peter  Burkholder,  of  Rockingham 
County,  Virginia.  He  was  born  in  Pennsylvania,  on  the 
2Yth  of  August,  1783,  and  while  yet  quite  young,  his  father, 
with  his  family,  removed  to  Virginia,  Here  Peter  spent  the 
rest  of  his  days.  He  was  ordained  to  the  ministry  in  1805, 
being  then  only  twenty-two  years  of  age.  He  afterwards 
became  a  bishop,  in  which  capacity  he  served  the  church  a 
good  many  years,  though  our  informant  is  not  able  to  give 
the  exact  time  in  which  he  was  ordained  to  the  bishop's  office. 
He  was  beloved  and  respected  as  a  God-fearing  and  pious 
Christian,  both  by  his  own  people  and  others.  He  pi'eached 
only  in  the  German  language,  and  persons  who  did  not 
understand  that  language,  and  consequently  had  no  bene- 
fit of  what  he  said,  came  to  hear  him  preach  and  sat,  atten- 
tively listening  to  his  discourses.  They  said,  they  knew  he 
was  a  Christian  by  his  deportment.  English  people  were 
very  desirous  to  hear  him  speak  in  their  language,  and  often 
requested  him  to  do  so,  but  his  knowledge  of  that  language 
was  so  limited  that  he  would  not  consent  to  do  so.  A  brother, 
still  living,  who  knew  him  well,  lived  a  close  neighbor  to 
him,  and  had  constant  dealings  with  him,  bears  testimony 
that  in  his  business  transactions  he  invariably  found  him 
manifesting  a  disposition  rather  to  give  than  to  take.  "  In  his 
ministry,"  says   this   brother,  "  he  was   decidedly   the   ablest 


AND    HER   ACCUSERS.  69 


man  I  ever  heard."  He  preached  lengthy  sermons  with  tears 
trickling  down  over  his  cheeks,  and  invariably  manifested 
such  zeal  and  power  as  to  melt  his  audience  to  tears.  He 
preached  what  he  believed  to  be  Gospel  truths,  and  never 
varied  therefrom  to  suit  those  with  itching  ears,  or  who,  like 
so  many  in   our  day,  desired  continually  to  hear  something 


new. 


He  wrote  a  number  of  "  Reflections  "  on  portions  of  the 
Sermon  on  the  Mount  and  other  parts  of  Scripture,  which 
were  translated  by  Joseph  Funk,  and  with  the  Confession 
of  Faith  (also  translated  by  him),  published  at  Winchester, 
Virginia,  in  1837.  These  "Reflections"  by  Peter  Burkholder, 
like  the  writings  of  Christian  Burkholder,  of  Lancaster 
County,  Pa.,  illustrate  and  set  forth  the  doctrines,  faith,  and 
practice  of  the  church,  in  a  very  able  and  practical  manner, 
and  we  find  in  them  some  very  excellent  and  pointed  remarks 
on  repentance,  conversion  and  the  new  birth.  He  indeed 
devotes  one  entire  chapter  of  his  writings  to  the  subject  of 
regeneration,  basing  his  remarks  on  John  3  :  3 — 6,  and  his 
writings  throughout  are  strictly  scriptural  and  fully  harmonize 
with  the  confessions  of  our  church  and  other  Mennonite 
writers.  It  will  also  be  observed  that  as  he  was  ordaimed  to 
the  ministry  in  1805,  his  labors  extended  through  that  period 
of  time  in  which  the  "Reformed  Church"  had  its  origin,  and 
in  which  Herr  and  Musser  lay  their  severest  charges  at  her 
door.  We  will  let  the  reader  himself  judge  of  the  character, 
both  of  the  man  and  of  his  teachings  from  the  following 
extracts  from  his  writings. 

In  the  first  of  his  Reflections,  on  page  266,  where  lie  speaks 
of  the  Poor  in  Spirit,  Matt.  5  :  3,  he  says,  "Here  our  great 
Teacher  instructs  us  in  the  ways  of  blessedness,  and  tells  us 
clearly  that  it  is  necessary  for  us  that  we  should  be  poor  in 
Spirit.  Now  let  us  examine  and  see  what  is  meant  by  being- 
poor  in  Spirit,  and  in  what  it  consists.  It  consists  principally 
in  a  true  self-knowledge.  The  person  who  is  acquainted  with 
his  own  heart,  is  of  a  humble,  lowly  spirit ;  for  if  we  examine 


70  THE   MENNONITE    CHUKCH 

ourselves  we  will  find  that  of  ourselves  we  are  nothing,  we  have 
nothing,  and  we  can  do  nothing,  but  that  all  we  are,  and  all  we 
have  is  of  God.  P^'rom  him  we  derive  our  being,  the  faculties  of 
the  soul,  every  good  thought,  and  it  is  he  that  'worketh  in 
us  both  to  will  and  to  do  of  his  good  pleasure.'  Phil.  2  :  13. 
For  God  is  all  in  all ;  the  Giver  of  every  good  and  perfect  gift, 
for  he  is  rich  unto  all  that  call  upon  him,  and  in  him  are  hid 
all  the  treasu.res  of  wisdom  and  knowledge.  Therefore,  every 
humble  discerning  penitent  will  acknowledge  that  God  is  rich, 
strong  and  powerful,  but  he  poor,  weak  and  impotent ;  and  in 
this  self-abasement  will  humbly  bow  before  the  throne  of  his 
majesty  and  confess  that  he  has  nothing  to  boast  of  but 
his  infirmity  ;  and  thus  renouncing  all  self-righteousness,  will 
groan  and  say  with  the  apostle  Paul,  'For  I  know  that  in  me 
(^that  is  in  my  fiesh),  dwelleth  no  good  thing:  for  to  will  is 
present  with  me  ;  but  how  to  perform  that  which  is  good,  I 
find  not.'  '  O  wretched  man  that  I  am  !  who  shall  deliver  me 
from  the  body  of  this  death?'  Rom.  7  :  18,  24.  Such  an 
one  will  feel  himself  to  be  unclean  and  leprous,  like  the  lepers 
in  Israel  of  old. — But  how  consolatory  to  him  to  find  that 
when  the  leprosy  had  covered  all  the  skin  of  him  that  had 
the  plague,  from  his  head  even  to  his  foot,  and  had  all  turned 
white,  the  priest  was  then  to  pronounce  him  clean.    Lev.  13  : 

12,  13.  So,  in  like  manner,  when  the  truly  penitent  mourner, 
groaning  under  a  sense  and  load  of  coiTuption,  sin,  and 
uncleanness,  deej^ly  humbled  and  poor  in  spirit,  coraeth  to 
.Jesus,  the  Great  High  Priest,  he  has  the  promise  of  being 
pronounced  clean.  But  he  must  come  to  Christ,  burdened 
and  sin-sick  ;  with  a  sincere  desire  beseeching  Him,  to  cleanse 
and  purify  him  from  all  sin  and  uncleanness,  as  did  the  ten 
lepers  of  Israel,  who  lifted  up  their  voices,  and  said,  'Jesus, 
Master,  have  mercy  on  us.  And  when  he  saw  them,  he  said 
unto  them.  Go,  show  yourselves  unto  the  priests :  and  it  came 
to   pass,  that,  as  they  went,  they  were  cleansed.'     Luke  17  : 

13,  14.  In  such  a  manner  will  all  those  do  who  are  poor  in 
spirit;    who  feel    the    weight   of   their  corruptions,    sins  and 


AKD    HER   ACCUSERS.  71 

infirmities.  Sin-sick  and  mourning  they  will  come  to  Jesus, 
their  Great  High  Priest,  beseeching  him  to  cleanse  and  heal 
them  from  all  their  sins  and  maladies.  And  for  such  is  he 
a  Physician,  and  a  Redeemer,  as  he  saith :  '  They  that  be 
whole  need  not  a  physician,  but  they  that  are  sick.  For  I 
am  not  come  to  call  the  righteous,  but  sinners  to  repentance.' 
Such  poor  in  spirit  he  calls  to  him  and  saith,  '  Come  unto  me, 
all  ye  that  labor  and  are  heavy  laden,  and  I  will  give  you  rest." 
"  The  true  penitent,  experiencing  that  he  is  poor  in  spirit, 
that  he  is  altogether  sinful,  fallen,  degraded,  in  a  lost  state 
by  nature,  and  unable  to  flee  from  the  wrath  to  come,  and  to 
deliver  himself,  he  begins  to  mourn  over  his  sinful  state, 
with  godly  sorrow  that  worketh  repentance  to  salvation  not 
to  be  repented  of.  With  a  broken  heai't  and  a  tender  con- 
science, he  humbleth  himself  and  says  with  penitent  David, 
'I  am  troubled;  lam  bowed  down  greatly  ;  I  go  mourning 
all  the  day  long.'  Ps.  38  :  6.  In  this  mourning  over  sin, 
the  sinner  will  feel  his  sins  to  become  an  intolerable  burden 
to  him ;  altogether  too  heavy  for  him  to  bear ;  and  thus  he 
will  strive  to  have  them  blotted  out,  in  looking  unto  the  Savior 
of  sinners,  by  true  repentance  and  by  faith.  For,  as  long  as 
the  sinner  is  yet  willing  to  live  in  sin,  after  the  lust  of  the 
flesh  and  the  rudiments  of  the  world,  he  is  not  come  to  a 
repentance  acceptable  with  God.  For,  '  If  any  man  love  the 
world,  the  love  of  the  Father  is  not  in  him.  For  all  that  is  in 
the  world,  the  lust  of  the  flesh,  and  the  lust  of  the  eyes,  and  the 
pi'ide  of  life  is  not  of  the  Father,  but  of  the  world.  And  the 
world  passeth  away,  and  the  lust  thereof :  but  he  that  doeth  the 
will  of  God  abideth  forever,'  1  John  2  :  15,  16,  17.  There- 
fore, sin,  and  the  lust  of  the  world,  must  become  intolerably 
loathsome  to  every  true  penitent,  and  a  burden  too  heavy  for 
him  to  bear,  so,  that  he  can  say  with  the  apostle  Paul,  'The 
world  is  crucified  unto  me,  and  I  unto  the  world  !  Gal.  6  :  14. 
To  such  an  humble,  sin-burdened,  sin-sick  soul,  the  words 
of  Christ  will  be  sweet,  when  he  says :  '  Come  unto  me,  all 
ye  that  labor  and  are  heavy  laden,  and  I  will  give  you  rest.' 


72  THE    MENNONITE    CHURCH 

"  From  the  foregoing  it  is  clear  and  evident,  tliat  mourn- 
ing and  godly  sorrow  must  go  before  peace,  comfort,  and 
consolation  ;  of  which  we  find  many  examples  in  the  Script- 
ures. Especially  that  of  the  woman,  who  was  a  sinner,  and 
came  to  Jesus  when  he  sat  at  meat  in  the  Pharisee's  house, 
bringing  an  alabaster  box  of  ointment,  and  stood  at  his  feet 
behind  him  weeping,  and  began  to  wash  his  feet  with  tears, 
and  did  wipe  them  with  the  hairs  of  her  head,  and  kissed 
his  feet,  and  anointed  them  with  the  ointment,  Luke  1  :  38. 
This  is  quite  a  different  representation  of  a  truly  penitent  sin- 
ner, from  what  we  see  in  our  day,  in  many  of  those  who 
pretend  to  be  converted,  and  yet  go  forth  in  all  the  pomp 
and  conformity  to  the  world,  decorating  their  heads  according 
to  all  the  vain  and  fleeting  fashions.  This  was  not  the  case 
with  the  woman  under  consideration,  who  used  the  hairs  of 
her  head  for  a  towel,  to  wipe  the  feet  of  her  beloved  Lord 
and  Master,  whom  she  loved  and  adored  above  all  things  ; 
inasmuch  as  she  thought  herself  unworthy  to  appear  before 
him,  but  stood  behind,  in  humility  and  self  abasement,  but 
yet  in  a  firm  faith  and  hope  of  obtaining  from  him  mercy, 
grace,  and  forgiveness  of  her  many  sins.  And  this  she 
obtianed  when  Jesus  said  unto  her,  '  Thy  sins  are  forgiven. 
Thy  faith  hath  saved  thee,  go  in  peace.'  Here  were  fulfilled 
the  words  of  the  Lord,  '  Blessed  are  they  that  mourn  ;  for 
they  shall  be   comforted,' 

"  Here  we  see,  how  merciful,  kind,  and  condescend- 
ing our  Lord  is,  to  those  poor  sinners  who  come  to  him  dis- 
tressed and  mourning  over  their  sins.  But,  let  us  beware 
and  not  err  in  comforting  ourselves  with  a  vain  comfort, 
before  we  have  been  deeply  humbled  for  sin,  by  feeling  the 
evil  of  it,  and  our  lost  state  by  nature  ;  which,  it  is  to  be 
feared,  is  the  case  with  too  many,  who  pretend  to  shout  and 
exult  over  their  sins,  ere  they  have  been  brought  to  see  the 
sinfulness  of  their  own  hearts  and  the  evil  of  sin,  and  thus 
become  deeply  humbled  arid  go  into  godly  mourning.  Such 
exultation   and  shouting  is  not  pleasing  to  the  Lord,     For, 


AND    HBR   ACCUSERS.  73 


when  Israel  of  old  went  out  against  the  Philistines  to  battle, 
and  were  smitten  before  the  Philistines ;  and  they  slew  of 
the  army  in  the  field  about  four  thousand  men, — the  people 
sent  to  Shiloh,  that  they  might  bring  from  thence  the  ark  of 
the  covenant  of  the  Lord  of  hosts  which  dwelleth  between 
the  Cherubims,  to  save  them  from  the  hands  of  their  enemies. 
And  when  the  ark  of  the  covenant  of  the  Lord  came  into  the 
camp,  all  Israel  shouted  with  a  great  shout,  so  that  the 
earth  rang  again.  And  when  the  Philistines  heard  the  noise 
of  the  shout,  they  said,  What  meaneth  the  noise  of  this  great 
shout  in  the  camp  of  the  Hebrews  ?  And  they  understood 
that  the  ark  of  the  Lord  was  come  into  the  camp.  And  the 
Philistines  were  afraid ;  for  they  said,  God  is  come  into 
the  camp.  And  they  said,  'Woe  unto  us  !  for  there  hath  not 
been  such  a  thing  heretofore.'  1  Sam.  4  :  1 — 1.  But  all  this 
great  shouting  helped  them  nothing :  and  the  Lord  was  not 
pleased  with  it,  neither  did  he  hear  them,  notwithstanding  their 
expressions  of  joy  and  exultation,  and  their  idle  notion  that 
all  was  now  well  with  them  since  they  had  the  ark  of  the  cove- 
nant of  the  Lord  with  them  in  the  camp.  The  Philistines 
also  feared  that  it  was  so.  But  the  event  proved  it  to  be  quite 
otherwise.  For  when  they  again  went  out  against  the  Phil- 
istines to  battle,  and  the  Philistines  fought,  Israel  was  smitten, 
and  they  fled  every  man  to  his  tent;  and  there  was  a  very 
great  slaughter ;  for  there  fell  of  Israel  thirty  thousand 
footmen.  And  the  ark  of  God  was  taken  ;  and  the  sons 
of  Eli,  Hophni  and  Phinehas  were  slain. — Now  is  the  ques- 
tion. Why  did  the  Lord  not  hear  Israel  in  their  great  shout- 
ing when  the  ark  of  the  covenant  of  the  Lord  came  into 
the  camp?  When  their  shouting  was  even  so  great  that 
the  earth  rang  again  ?— The  answer  is,  because  ihey  mourned 
not  over  the  sins  which  they  had  committed,  and  many 
things  which  they  had  among  them  with  which  the  Lord 
was  displeased.  This  is  clearly  seen  in  the  sequel.  For, 
when  they  presumptuously  looked  into  the  ark,  at  Beth-she- 
mesh,  the  Lord  smote  of  the  people  fifty  thousand  and  three 
10 


74  THE    MBNNONITE    CHURCH 

score  and  ten  men.  This  brousfht  them  to  a  state  of  mourn- 
ing, and  to  a  knowledge  of  the  evil  of  sin  ;  for  the  men  of 
Beth-shemesh  said,  '  Who  is  able  to  stand  before  this  Holy 
Lord  God  ? ' — After  this,  the  ark  of  the  Lord  was  taken  up  to 
Kirjath-jearira,  and.  while  it  was  there  the  time  was  long ; 
for  it  was  twenty  years  ;  and  all  the  house  of  Israel  lamented 
after  the  Lord.  This  was  the  beginning  of  that  mourning 
and  godly  sorrow  which  is  acceptable  to  the  Lord.  And 
when  Samuel  saw  this  their  lamentation,  he  spake  unto  all 
the  house  of  Israel,  saying.  If  ye  do  return  unto  the  Lord 
with  all  your  hearts,  then  put  away  the  strange  gods  and 
Ashtaroth  from  among  you,  and  prepare  your  hearts  unto  the 
Lord,  and  serve  him  only;  and  he  will  deliver  you  out  of 
the  hands  of  the  Philistines.  Then  the  children  of  Israel 
did  put  away  Baalim  and  Ashtaroth,  and  served  the  Lord 
only.  And  tliey  were  gathered  together  to  Mizpeh,  and  fasted 
on  that  day,  acknowledging  their  sins  to  the  Lord.  And 
Samuel  offered  a  burnt-offering  unto  the  Lord,  and  prayed 
for  them,  and  the  Lord  heard  him.  And  as  Samuel  was  offer- 
ing up  the  burnt-offering,  the  Philistines  drew  near  to  battle 
against  Israel ;  but  the  Lord  thundered  with  a  great  thunder 
on  that  day  upon  the  Philistines,  and  discomfited  them ;  and 
they  were  smitten   before  Israel.     1  Sam.  7  :  1 — 10. 

"Now,  here  we  may  clearly  see,  that  all  the  shouting, 
rejoicing,  and  exultation  of  the  children  of  Israel,  heljjed  them 
nothing,  so  long  as  their  hearts  were  not  deeply  humbled  by 
penitent  mourning  for  their  apostasy  and  sins,  and  by 
renouncing  their  idols,  and  those  things  which  were  an  abom- 
ination in  the  sight  of  the  Lord.  But,  if  my  readers  should 
say,  We  have  not  Baalim  and  Ashtaroth  among  us,  to  wor- 
ship them,  and  what  have  we  that  is  so  displeasing  to  the 
Lord,  for  which  we  should  repent  and  mourn  ?  I  would 
answer,  That,  though  we  have  no  images  or  heathen  deities 
that  we  worship  among  us  now,  yet,  there  are  many  other 
things  which  are  of  an  idolatrous  nature,  and  are  equally  dis- 
pleasing and  abominable  in  the  sight  of  the  Lord  our  God  ; 


AND    HER    ACCUSERS.  75 


and  which  we  must  renounce  and  forsake  if  we  would  be  his 
children.  First,  Christ  our  Lord  saith,  '  For  that  which  is 
highly  esteemed  among  men  is  abomination  in  the  sight  of 
God.'  Luke  16  :  15.  Such  abominations  are  to  be  found 
among  men  only  too  much  :  for  the  whole  rac^  of  man  is  by 
nature  inclined  to  be  high-minded,  and  to  pursue  the  vain 
modes  and  fashions  of  the  world,  and  the  conformity  to  it ; 
notwithstanding  the  admonition  of  the  apostle  Paul,  where 
he  says,  'And  be  not  conformed  to  this  world ;  but  be  ye  trans- 
formed by  the  renewing  of  your  mind,  that  ye  may  prove 
what  is  that  good,  and  acceptable,  and  perfect  will  of  God.' 
Moreover,  how  prone  is  rHan  to  seek  honor  of  men ;  and  how 
vain  glorious  of  renown  ?  Whereas  Christ  saith,  '  I  receive 
not  honor  from  men.'  Also,  How  can  ye  believe,  which 
receive  honor  one  of  another,  and  seek  not  the  honor  that 
Cometh  from  God  ?  John  5  :  41 — 44.  Again,  many  hanker 
after  riches,  and  labor  to  amass  perishable  treasures,  and 
serve  them  by  having  their  hearts  fixed  on  this  mammon',  pre- 
tending also  to  serve  God;  whereas  Christ  saith,  'No  man  can 
serve  two  masters :  for  either  he  will  hate  the  one,  and  love 
the  other  ;  or  else  he  will  hold  to  the  one,  and  despise  the 
other.  Ye  cannot  serve  God  and  mammon.'  Matt.  6  :  24. 
Therefore,  if  we  would  be  truly  converted  to  the  Lord,  we 
must  abandon  and  forsake  all  these  sins  which  the  Lord 
abhors ;  seek  his  favor ;  devote  our  hearts  wholly  to  his  ser- 
vice;  cleave  and  cling  to  him  with  reverence  and  love,  and 
adore  and  serve  hini  alone,  in  obeying  his  voice. 

"  When  Saul  was  disobedient  to  the  voice  of  the  Lord, 
Samuel  reproved  him  and  said,  '  Hath  the  Lord  as  great 
delight  in  burnt  offerings  and  sacrifices  as  in  obeying  the  voice 
of  the  Lord  ?  Behold,  to  obey  is  better  than  sacrifice,  and  to 
hearken  than  the  fat  of  rams.  For  rebellion  is  as  the  sin  of 
witchcraft,  and  stubbornness  is  as  iniquity  and  idolatry.' 
1  Sam.  15  :  22,  23.  Here  we  see  that  disobedience  to  the  voice 
of  the  Lord  is  a  heinous  sin  ;  and  if  we  would  be  acceptable 
to  God,  and  be  heard  of  him,   we  must  put  away  from  us  the 


76  THE    MENNONITE    CHURCH 

sins  of  disobedience  and  rebellion,  which  are  iniquity  and 
idolatry,  and  be  made  pure  and  holy,  ready  and  willing  to 
do  whatsoever  he  has  commanded  us.  For,  '  Whosoever 
transgresseth,  and  abideth  not  in  the  doctrine  of  Christ,  hath 
not  God.  He  that  abideth  in  the  doctrine  of  Christ,  he  hath 
both  the  Father  and  the  Son.'  .2  John  5  :  9.  But  so  long 
as  we  have  not  renounced  and  forsaken  those  sins  and  abom- 
inations which  the  Lord  abhors  and  has  forbidden  in  his  word, 
we  may  cry  and  call  aloud,  and  yet  not  be  heard  of  the  Lord, 
as  he  saith  by  the  mouth  of  his  prophet  Isaiah  :  '  And  when 
ye  spread  forth  your  hands  I  will  hide  mine  eyes  from  you  ; 
yea,  when  ye  make  many  prayers,  Iwill  not  hear:  your  hands 
are  full  of  blood.'  Isa.  1  :  15.  'But,'  saith  Christ,  'If  ye 
abide  in  me,  and  my  words  abide  in  you,  ye  shall  ask  what 
ye  will,  and  it  shall  be  done  unto  you.'     John  15  :  V. 

"  Our  Lord  saith,  in  the  4th  verse  of  the  words  under 
consideration,  '  Blessed  are  the  meek  :  for  they  shall  inherit 
the  earth.'  To  be  meek  is  to  be  of  a  soft,  tender,  gentle, 
quiet,  humble,  forbeai-ing  and  submissive  disposition,  and  not 
easily  provoked.  Of  this  disposition  we  must  also  participate 
if  we  would  be  prepared  for  the  kingdom  of  God  and  for  a 
share  in  the  promised,  blessing.  For,  as  long  as  our  hearts 
are  yet  hard,  obdurate  and  impenitent,  there  is  no  blessing 
promised  us,  but,  much  more,  indignation  and  wrath,  tribu- 
lation and  anguish,  upon  every  soul  of  man  that  doeth  evil. 
For,  by  nature  the  heart  of  man  is  the  seat  of  evil,  corrupt 
and  vile  affections ;  it  is  hard,  obdurate,  presumptuous,  self- 
willed  and  impenitent ;  by  reason  of  which  it  is  in  a  fatal 
and  unhappy  state.  Therefore,  the  sinner's  heart  must  be 
changed,  renewed,  softened,  and  broken  with  the  hammer  of 
the  law  of  God's  word,  and  thus  brought  to  a  knowledge  of 
the  evil  of  sin,  and  of  the  evil  of  his  own  heart ;  for,  by 
the  law  is  the  knowledge  of  sin.  Rom.  3  :  20.  Now, 
when  the  sinner  is  brought  to  see  the  justice  of  the  law,  and 
feels  himself  under  the  condemnation  of  it,  he  will  be  afraid 
of  the  judgments  of  God,  as  it  is  written,  '  My  flesh  trem- 


AND    HEB    ACCUSERS. 


77 


bleth  for  fear  of  them  :  and  I  am  afraid  of  thy  judgments' 
Ps.  119  :  120.  Moreover,  'Like  a  crane  or  a  swallow,  so 
did  I  chatter:  I  did  mourn  as  a  dove;  mine  eyes  fail  with 
looking  upward :  O  Lord,  I  am  oppressed ;  undertake  for  me.' 
Isa.  38  :  14.  Thus,  full  of  anguish  and  fear,  the  sinner  is 
brought  to  see  his  sad  case  by  nature,  and  now  begins  to  seek 
for  a°remedy,  by  humbling  himself  under  the  mighty  hand  of 
God  and  beseeching  Him  to  give  him  a  new  heart  and  a  new 
spirit.  And  now,  as  the  sinner  is  humbled  and  comes  to 
the  Lord  in  his  appointed  way,  the  Lord  also  confirms  his 
promise  to  him,  when  he  saith,  '  A  new  heart  also  will  I  give 
you,  and  a  new  spirit  will  I  put  within  you  ;  and  I  will  take 
away  the  stony  heart  out  of  your  flesh,  and  I  will  give  you 
a  heart  of  flesh.'  Ezek.  36  :  26.  And  such  a  heart  as  this 
will  then  be  meek.  It  will  be  of  a  soft,  tender,  gentle,  quiet, 
teachable  and  submissive  disposition.  And  to  all  such  as  are  of 
this  disposition  is  promised  that  they  shall  inherit  the  earth  ; 
namely,  the  new  earth,  of  which  the  apostle  Peter  saith, 
'Nevertheless  we,  according  to  his  promise,  look  for  new 
heavens  and  a  new  earth,  wherein  dwelleth  righteousness.' 
2  Pet.  3  :  13.  'But  the  meek  shall  inherit  the  earth,  and 
shall  delight   themselves  in   the  abundance  of    peace.'  '     Ps. 

37  :  11. 

On  page  288,  in  his  Reflections  on  the  Pihre  in  hearty 
*he  says,  after  quoting  several  Scripture  passages,  "From  these 
words  it  follows,  that  if  we  would  .serve  God  according  to 
his  will,  we  must  purge  and  purify  ourselves  from  all  sin 
and  uncleanness,  and  that  justice  and  righteousness  must  be 
manifested  and  shown  forth  in  our  walk  and  conversation. 
For,  should  we  daily  attend  on  public  worship,  praying  much 
and  saying.  Lord,  Lord  !  and  with  all  this  not  do  the  will  of 
the  Father  which  is  in  heaven,  in  keeping  his  commandments 
which  he  has  commanded  us  to  do,  it  would  not  be  pleasing 
to  the  Lord:  for,  as  our  inner  religion  of  the  heart  cannot 
subsist  and  stand  the  test  except  it  be  evidenced  in  our  out- 
ward   walk   and   conversation,     and   in    using   the   appointed 


78  THE   MENNONITE    CHURCH 


means,  so  likewise  cannot  our  outward  good  works  stand  the 
test  and  be  acceptable  to  God  if  they  are  not  wrought  by 
faith  of  the  inner  man.  For  this  reason  it  would  be  vain 
to  say— If  only  the  heart  is  good,  it  don't  matter  for  exter- 
nals ;  and  on  the  other  hand,  it  would  be  equally  fruitless  and 
pernicious  to  say — It  is  enough  if  I  am  baptized — go  to  hear 
the  word  of  God  preached,  and  partake  of  the  Lord's  Supper  ; 
if  I  do  this  I  am  a  Christian,  and  what  need  I  more  ?  Of 
this  order  were  the  Pharisees,  in  having  all  their  religion  and 
divine  service  in  outward  ceremonies  and  tradition  of  the 
elders  and  the  commandments  of  men,  for  which  the  Lord 
reproveth  them  when  he  saith,  '  This  people  draweth  nigh 
unto  me  with  their  mouth,  and  honoreth  me  with  their  lips  ; 
but  their  heart  is  far  from  me.  But  in  vain  they  do  worship 
me,  teaching  for  doctrines  the  commandments  of  men.' 
Matt.    15  :   8,  9." 

Again  on  page  292  he  writes  as  follows,  "  Here  the 
sinner  must  be  made  willing,  with  all  his  heart,  to  forsake 
and  renounce  sin  and  all  ungodliness,  and  with  all  his  soul 
to  submit  to  the  divine  moving  and  teaching  of  the  Spirit  of 
grace,  and  with  humble  prayer  and  supplication  to  God,  seek 
to  be  purified  in  heart,  and  sanctified,  as  David  saith,  '  Create 
in  me  a  clean  heart,  O  God ;  and  renew  a  right  spirit  within 
me.  Cast  me  not  away  from  thy  presence ;  and  take  not 
thy  Holy  Spirit  from  me.'  Ps.  51  :  10,  11.  And  so  soon  as 
the  supplicant  is  thus  purified  in  heart,  by  being  washed 
and  cleansed  from  within,  he  will  be  clean  from  without  also: 
and  this  cleanliness,  or  purity  from  without,  consists  in  obe- 
diently keeping  the  commandments  of  God,  as  Peter  saith, 
'Seeing  ye  have  purified  your  souls  in  obeying  the  truth 
through  the  Spirit  unto  unfeigned  love  of  the  brethren,  see 
that  ye  love  one  another  with  a  pui'e  heart  fervently.  Being 
born  again,  not  of  corruptible  seed,  but  of  incorruptible, 
by  the  word  of  God,  which  liveth  and  abideth  forever.'  1 
Pet.  1  :  22,  23.  Hei*e,  by  obeying  the  truth,  (which  is  the 
word  of  God),  they  were  purified  and  cleansed  from  without, 


AND    HEK    ACCUSERS. 


79 


as  Christ  clearly  shows  when  he  saith,  'Now  ye  are  clean 
through  the  word  which  I  have  spoken  unto  you.'  John  15  : 
3,  And  with  this  obedience  to  the  word  of  God,  must  all 
true  Christians  and  children  of  God  comply  :  Therefore  did 
the  Son  of  God  pray  so  earnestly  to  his  heavenly  Father  that 
He  would  sanctify  his  disciples  saying,  'Sanctify  them 
through  thy  truth  :  thy  word  is  truth.'  "     17:7. 

He  says  further  in   his    Reflection  on  the  Kew    Birth, 
pages  387-8-9,  "  If  any  one  thinketli  that  he  is  born  again, 
and  the  spirit  by  whose  influence  he  was  regenerated,  leadeth 
him  not  to  the  obedience  of  the  Gospel,  and  to  imitating  and 
following  Christ,  in   his   regeneration,   in   all   the  command- 
ments of  Christ,  he  may  be  assured  that  he  is  deceived  in  his 
new  birth  and  that  he  was  not  born  of  the  incorruptible  seed 
of  the  word  of  God,  for  as  the  seed  is,  so  will  the  fruit  and 
the  birth  be.     And  when  the  seed  of  the    word  of    God   is 
sown  into  the  heart  of  man,  and  is  quickened  by  the  co-oper- 
ative influence  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  it  will  become  operative  in 
the  heart  to  subdue  and  mortify  the  deeds  of  the  body  and  its 
sinful  lusts,  and  crucify  the  old  man."    " '  And  ye  now  therefore 
have  sorrow  ;  but  I  will  see  you  again,  and  your  heart  shall 
rejoice,  and  your  joy  no  man  taketh  from  you.'     John  16  :  21, 
22.     This  sorrow  and  anguish  consists  in  mourning  over  sin, 
and  crucifying  the  lusts  of  the  flesh   with  its  deeds,  for  Paul 
says,  '  They  that  are  Christ's  have  crucified  the  flesh  with  the 
affections  and  lusts.'    Gal.  5  :  24.    'Moreover,  mortify  therefore 
your  members  which  are  upon  the  earth  ;  fornication,  unclean- 
ness,  inordinate   affection,    evil    concupiscence,  and  covetous- 
ness,   which  is  idolatry.'     Col.  3:5.     '  Also,  that  ye  put  off 
concerning  the  former  conversation,  the  old  man,  which  is 
corrupt  according  to  the  deceitful  lusts,  and  be  renewed  in 
the  spirit  of  your  mind  ;   and  that  ye  put  on  the  new  man, 
which,  after  God,  is  created  in   righteousness  and  true  holi- 
ness.'    Eph.  4  :  22 — 24.     *  *  *  Therefore  lei  every  one  who 
thinketh   that  he  is  born  again  of  the  Word  and  Spirit  of 
God,  prove  and  examine  himself,  whether  he  has  crucified  and 


80  THE   MENNONITE   CSFEca 

put  to  death  his  old  Adaraic  nature  ? — put  off  concerning  the 
former  conversation,  the  old  man,  which  is  corrupt  accord- 
ing to  deceitful  lusts  ? — and  whether  he  has  put  on  the  new 
man,  which  after  God  is  created  in  righteousness  and  true 
holiness  ? — for  where  this  is  not  found,  there  is  no  true  regen- 
eration— no  new  birth  that  is  wrought  by  the  word  and  Spirit 
of  God,  but  is  imaginary  and  fanciful,  and  will  not  be  able 
to  bear  the  test." 

On  pages  397-8-9,  he  further  says,  "  From  the  foregoing 
words  and  remarks  it  is  plain  and  evident,  that  by  this  spir- 
itual birth,  we  participate  of  the  spirit  of  Christ  ;  and  con- 
sequently partake  of  his  holy  nature,  and  are  like  minded 
with  him.  And  from  his  own  words  we  learn,  that  he  is  meek 
and  lowly,  as  he  saith,  '  Take  my  yoke  upon  you,  and  learn 
of  me  ;  for  I  am  meek  and  lowly  in  heart :  and  ye  shall  find 
rest  unto  your  souls.'  Matt.  11  :  29.  Now,  as  he,  our  Lord 
and  Savior,  is  meek  and  lowly  in  heart, — all  those  who  are 
born  of  his  Spirit  will  be  meek  and  lowly  in  heart  too  ;  and 
will  manifest  this  humble,  meek  and  lowly  disposition,  by 
taking  his  cross  upon  them,  and  following  him  in  the  regen- 
eration, by  leading  a  holy,  harmless  and  pious  life.  For 
true  regeneration,  which  is  wrought  by  the  Spirit  of  God,  will 
manifest  itself  by  self-denial,  copying  after  and  imitating 
Christ  in  a  godly  life,  following  after  him,  and  thus  continue 
till  death :  for  the  crown  is  not  at  the  beginning ;  neither  is 
it  in  the  middle ;  but  he  that  endui-eth  to  the  end  shall  be 
saved.  '  Moreover,  Christ  Jesus  has  left  us  an  example,  that 
we  should  follow  his  steps.  Who,  when  he  was  reviled, 
reviled  not  again  ;  when  he  suffered,  he  threatened  not,  but 
committed  himself  to  him  that  judgeth  righteously.'  1  Pet. 
2  :  21,  23.  And,  according  to  this  example,  will  the  disciples 
of  Christ  be  of  a  lamb-like  disposition,  and  shew  forth  the 
praises  of  him  who  hath  called  them  out  of  darkness  into 
his  marvelous   light.     1  Pet.  2:9. 

"  And  besides,  the  new  birth  which  is  effected  by  the 
Spirit  of  God,  overcometh   the  world  ;   as   John  saith,  '  For 


AND    HBR   ACCUSERS.  81 


whosoever  is  born  of  God,  overcometh  the  world  :  and  this 
is  the  victory  that  overcometh  the  world,  even  our  faith.'  1 
John  5  :  4.  And  those  who  have  overcome  the  world,  must 
not  seek  its  honor  and  glory,  its  comforts  and  delights — 
neither  live  conformably  to  it,  as  the  apostle  saith,  *  Love  not 
the  world,  neither  the  things  that  are  in  the  world.  If  any 
man  love  the  world,  the  love  of  the  Father  is  not  in  him.  For 
all  that  is  in  the  world,  the  lust  of  the  flesh,  and  the  lust  of 
the  eyes,  and  the  pride  of  life,  is  not  of  the  Father,  but  is  of 
the  world.  And  the  world  passeth  away,  and  the  lust 
thereof :  but  he  that  doeth  the  will  of  God  abideth  forever.' 
1  John  2  :  15 — lY.  Now,  this  love  of  the  world,  with  the 
lust  of  the  flesh,  the  lust  of  the  eyes,  and  the  pride  of  life, 
belongs  to  the  natural  birth  :  but  the  new-born,  spiritual 
birth  of  God,  by  faith,  overcometh  the  world.  Hence,  let 
every  one  who  thinketh  that  he  is  born  of  God,  prove  him- 
self and  examine,  whether  he  participates  in  the  divine  nature 
and  disposition  ;  and  whether  he  is  advancing  in  the  Chris- 
tian graces  and  virtues,  and  in  heavenly-mindedness  :  and  if 
he  should  find  that  he  does  not  partake  of  this  heavenly 
and  divine  nature  and  tendency,  and  has  not  put  on  this 
lamb-like  disposition  of  being  humble,  meek,  and  lowly  in 
mind,  he  may  be  assured  that  he  is  not  born  of  God  :  which? 
it  is  to  be  feared,  is  the  case  with  many,  who  vainly  imagine 
that  they  are  regenerated  and  born  of  God,  and  yet  do  not 
manifest,  in  their  life  and  conversation,  that  humility  and 
meekness  which  adorns  the  disciple  of  Christ,  and  his  doc- 
trine. But,  on  the  contrary,  they  oppose  the  holy  doctrine 
of  Christ  and  his  apostles,  by  a  conformity  to  the  world,  in 
pride  and  haughtiness  ;  using  the  laws  of  the  world  to  oppress 
their  neighbors,  and  the  sword  to  avenge  themselves,  and 
to  do  violence  to  their  enemies,  all  which  is  opposed  to  the 
divine  nature,  tendency  and  disposition  of  Christ  Jesus,  and 
belongs  to  worldly  mindedness,  and  not  to  those  who  are 
heavenly  minded,  for  '  He  that  saith  he  abideth  in  him,  ought 
himself  also  so  to  walk,  even  as  he  walked.'  "  1  John  2  :  6 
11 


82  THE   MENNONITE    CHUECH 


We  will  now  pass  over  to  another  writer,  who  lived, 
preached  and  wrote  probably  about  the  same  time  as  Peter 
Burkholder.  This  writer  is  Abraham  Godshalk,  of  the  Deep 
Run  Church,  in  Bucks  Co.,  Pa.  The  English  work  from  which 
our  extracts  are  made  was  printed  in  1838.  The  work  is  called 
"A  description  of  the  New  Creature,  from  its  birth  until  grown 
up  into  a  perfect  man  ;  unto  the  measure  of  the  stature  of 
the  fullness  of  Christ,  with  its  necessity,  origin,  growth,  and 
final  glorious  and  happy  state  through  Jesus  Christ."  The 
work  was  first  written  and  published  in  the  German  language, 
and  it  is  very  probable  that  at  least,  several  years  elapsed, 
between  the  first  writing  and  the  English  publication.  He 
wrote  and  published  this  work  in  his  later  years,  and  he,  him- 
self, says  that  he  was,  "at  a  pretty  early  day,"  that  is,  at  a 
pretty  early  age,  "  called  to  be  a  preacher  of  the  Gospel,"  so 
that  he  must  also  have  lived,  and  preached,  at  least  in  the  early 
part  of  his  ministry,  just  in  the  very  time,  or  at  least  soon 
after,  in  which  the  church  is  represented  as  so  dead  and 
impure.  We  will  give  only  a  few  extracts  from  his  writings 
which  we  deem  sufficient,  however,  to  give  the  key-note  to 
the  entire  work. 

On  pages  32  and  33  he  says,  "  I  go  on,  Secondly,  to  show 
what  regeneration  is,  and  first,  it  is  a  change  in  man,  as  the 
terms  of  'Regeneration,'  'New  creature,'  &c.,  sufficiently  imply 
and  show  forth.  Our  Savior  could  hardly  have  made  use  of  a 
more  powerful  and  significant  expression,  or  given  a  better  type, 
than  the  birth  of  man.  *  *  *  Paul  says,  '  My  little  children, 
of  whom  I  travail  in  birth  again,  until  Christ  be  formed  in 
you,'  notwithstanding  it  is  not  in  the  power  of  the  bride  to 
give  the  increase,  but  God  gives  it ;  therefore,  regeneration 
is  a  change  of  such  a  nature,  as  not  to  be  produced  by  man 
alone  ;  neither  by  the  regenerated,  nor  by  him  who  is  to  be 
regenerated,  but  by  the  co-operation  of  God  with  man,  so 
that  it  may  be  said  with  propriety  of  the  regenerated  man, 
that  he  is  born  of  God.  There  are  many,  I  know,  who  think 
that  all   who  will,  may  be  regenerated,  and  so  I  think  too ; 


AND    HER    ACCUSERS.  83 


but  it  is  in  the  will  that  regeneration  has  its  commenceraent ; 
for  if  the  wicked  man  only  once  has  the  will  to  receive  Christ, 
or  in  other  words,  to  cease  from  evil,  and  to  learn  to  do  good, 
has  he  not  the  most  essential  part,  and  is  no  more  what  he 
was  before,  but  a  new  creature  ?  Understand  me  rightly, 
he  is  new  in  will ;  and  Paul  shows  most  clearly,  that  it  is  God 
which  worketh  in  man,  both  to  will  and  to  do,  of  his  good 
pleasure,  though  this  may  by  some  be  considered  small,  it 
is  nevertheless  a  commencement  of  regeneration,  a  birth  out 
of  God  by  faith,  and  when  to  the  will  is  added  the  deed, 
we  have  regeneration  in  a  good  degree. 

"  Regeneration  is  putting  on  Christ  by  faith.  And  where 
Christ,  who  may  with  much  propriety  be  called  a  new  man 
(for  there  never  was  any  like  him  on  earth  before),  is  to  be 
put  on,  the  old  man  must  be  put  off,  as  Paul  says  (Eph.  4  : 
32),  '  That  ye  put  off  concerning  the  former  conversation 
the  old  man,  which  is  corrupt,  according  to  the  deceitful 
lusts ;  and  be  renewed  in  the  spirit  of  your  mind,  and  that 
ye  put  on  the  new  man,  which  after  God,  is  created  in  right- 
eousness and  true  holiness  :  wherefore,  putting  away  lying, 
speak  every  man  truth  with  his  neighbor.'  To  put  on  Christ, 
is  not  merely  to  believe  that  he  is,  but  to  receive  him  in 
all,  as  he  is,  namely :  in  doctrine,  in  examples  and  merits, 
as  Paul  says,  'As  ye  have  learned  him,  so  walk  ye  in  him.' 
And  if  we  put  on  Christ  with  his  holy  doctrine  and  example, 
repentance  must  be  the  consequence  with  the  sinner  for  the 
first,  and  secondly  a  patterning  after  Jesus,  which  leads  to 
sanctification  of  the  flesh  and  of  the  spirit ;  and  if  we  then 
also  put  him  on  with  his  merits,  then  are  we  begotten  again 
to  a  lively  hope  of  life  everlasting,  by  the  resurrection  of 
Jesus  Christ  from  the  dead. 

"  Now  he  that  has  truly  put  on  Christ,  cannot  other- 
wise than  love  God  and  his  brother ;  for  this  Christ  repeatedly 
taught,  namely,  '  A  new  commandment  I  give  unto  you,  that 
ye  love  one  another.'  Again,  'Thereby  shall  all  men  know 
that  ye  are  my  disciples,  if  ye  love  one  another.'     And  here- 


84  THE   MENNONITB   CHURCH 

with  John  agrees,  saying,  'Beloved,  let  us  love  one  another, 
for  love  is  of  God,  and  every  one  that  loveth  is  born  of  God, 
and  knoweth  God  '  1  Jn.  4  :  7.  Again,  '  By  this  we  know 
that  we  love  the  children  of  God,  when  we  love  God  and 
keep  his  commandments,  for  this  is  the  love  of  God,  that  we 
keep  his  commandments.'  1  Jn.  5:2,  3.  And  when  man 
has  once  such  a  love  to  God,  by  virtue  of  which  he  keeps  his 
commandments,  then  he  is  indeed  a  new  creature.  '  Old 
things  have  passed  away,  behold  all  things  are  become  new.' 
2  Cor.  5  :  17.  Yea,  man  is  changed  in  will,  understanding, 
and  deeds :  yea,  in  heart.  So  then  we  see  that  regeneration 
consists  in  light  from  God,  faith,  a  change  of  the  will,  a 
change  of  the  passions  and  propensities :  where  the  blind  are 
made  to  see,  or  the  ignorance  of  the  will  of  God  must  depart. 
And  faith  grounds  itself  on  knowledge  that  gave  evidence, 
being  convinced,  whereby  the  perverse  will  become  right, 
so  that  man  only  wills,  what  God  wills,  and  the  passions  are 
so  altered  that  we  love  that  which  before  we  loved  not,  and 
hate,  or  at  least,  deny  ourselves  of  what  we  before  loved, 
that  is  to  say  all  things  forbidden  of  God.  I  have  now  given 
a  brief  description  of  regeneration,  in  so  far  as  it  is  necessary 
unto  a  complete  entrance  into  the  kingdom  of  Christ  on  earth ; 
it  being  righteousness,  peace  and  joy  in  the  Holy  Ghost." 
We  have  now  in  the  foregoing  pages,  presented  the 
reader  with  extracts  and  articles  from  the  writings  of  different 
men,  to  show  the  teachings,  and  represent  the  condition  of 
the  church  from  1760  or  before,  to  1830  or  1840,  or  from  the 
time  in  which  our  accusers  admit  and  claim  that  the  church 
was,  at  least,  reasonably  pure,  and  in  which  it  began  to 
become  corrupt,  and  covering  the  period  in  which  they  claim 
that  it  was  a  dead  church,  and  in  which  its  corruption  was 
greatest,  for  Musser  also  makes  the  assertion,  that  since  the 
Reformed  Mennonite  Church  was  organized,  the  Old  Men- 
nonite  Church,  has,  to  some  extent  reformed,  and  that  in  many 
respects  her  members  live  a  much  more  moral  life,  than 
during  the  period,  as   he  claims,  of  her  greatest  corruption. 


AND    HER   ACCTTSEKS.  85 


The  reader  will  remember  that  Henry  Funk  came  to 
this  country  in  1719,  and  that  he  died  in  1760,  so  that  he 
represents  in  his  writings  the  doctrines  and  teachings  of  the 
church  during  that  period.  The  old  manuscript,  given  in  a 
previous  chapter,  which  gives  an  account  of  the  dealings 
of  the  church  with  Boehm,  was  evidently  written  in,  or  about 
the  year  1775.  The  extract  from  another  manuscript  given 
in  the  same  chapter,  bears  date  of  1782,  and  Christian  Burk- 
holder  wrote  his  essays  or  admonitions  on  Repentance,  &c., 
about  the  year  1792,  or  just  previous  to  it,  while  the  writ- 
ings of  Peter  Burkholder  and  Abraham  Godshalk  were  pub- 
lished in  the  English  language  in  1837  and  1838,  both  having 
been  written  previously  in  the  German,  and  those  of  God- 
shalk  were  also  previously  published  in  that  language. 

The  testimonies  presented  in  these  writings,  it  seems  to 
us,  should  be  conclusive  to  every  reflecting  and  unprejudiced 
mind.  If  the  church  taught  the  true  doctrine  of  the  Gospel, 
in  the  days  of  Henry  Funk,  as  his  writings  so  plainly  show ; 
if  the  Conference  composed  of  the  entire  body  of  ministei-s 
and  deacons,  with  the  consent  and  acquiescence  of  the  mem- 
bership of  the  church  in,  or  about  1775,  leave  us  a  testi- 
mony, reflecting  the  true  doctrines  of  the  Gospel  and  a  faith- 
ful adherence  to  the  same,  and  showing  that  they  not  only 
professed,  but  also  lived  in  accordance  with  their  faith,  and  if 
Christian  Burkholder  wrote  and  advocated  the  true  gospel  doc- 
trine of  repentance,  in  1792,  to  which  the  church  still  at  this 
day  adheres,  which  things  neither  Musser  nor  any  one  else  can 
deny,  then  it  is  not  at  all  probable,  yea,  we  may  say,  impossi- 
ble, that  the  church  in  a  few  years  should  have  become  so 
entirely  corrupt,  that  it  must  be  branded  as  a  dead  church. 
Even  if  the  testimony  given  us  in  the  old  manuscript  above 
referred  to,  and  the  writings  of  Christian  Burkholder  and 
others,  should  fail  us,  it  would  be  an  unheard  of  thing  for  a 
church  as  the  Mennonite  church,  is  acknowledged,  even  by 
Musser  himself,  to  have  been,  that  with  a  doctrine  so  pure, 
a  faith  so  strong,  and  an  adherence  so  firm,  that  neither  the 


86  THE    MENNONITE    CHTJECH 

wiles  of  Satan,  nor  the  fires  of  persecution  could  extinguish 
her  devotion  during  all  the  centuries  of  her  sufferings,  the 
Mennonite  church,  should  have,  in  so  short  a  time,  lost  her 
candlestick  and  have  become  a  dead  church.  Besides  this, 
the  writings  of  Peter  Burkholder  and  Abraham  Godshalk 
leave  us  an  indisputable  testimony,  that  the  same  Gospel 
doctrines  were  taught,  and  earnestly  taught,  during  this  very 
time  and  also  afterwards,  while  many  witnesses,  still  living, 
can  be  produced  who  confirm  the  correctness  of  our  remarks, 
and  the  injustice  of  Musser's  charges. 

It  requires  time  to  corrupt  a  church  that  is  truly  a  church 
of  God,  as  well  as  to  reform  a  corrupt  people  and  bring  them 
back  to  God.  We  seldom,  if  ever,  find  an  individual  person, 
who  plunges  suddenly  from  a  pure,  innocent,  Christian  life, 
into  the  depths  of  sin,  debauchery  and  crime.  The  most 
notorious  criminals  always  begin  their  course  by  little  trans- 
gressions ;  the  taking  of  little  things  makes,  at  last,  the  high- 
way robber;  the  wantonly  killing  of  harmless  insects  and  ani- 
mals, often  leads  a  man,  step  by  step,  to  bloodshed  and  murder; 
the  dnnking  of  the  daily  dram  or  the  morning  and  evening 
bitters,  creates,  gradually,  a  desire  for  more,  until  step  by 
step,  the  man  becomes  a  confirmed  drunkard.  Hence  the 
idea  that  the  Mennonite  church,  standing  as  we  have  seen, 
upon  the  genuine  doctrines  of  the  word  of  God  in  1760, 
should,  in  the  course  of  forty  years  or  even  less,  become  so 
entirely  corrupt,  as  our  defamers  would  have  it,  is  to  say  the 
least,  not  at  all  probable. 

Jesus  says,  "Upon  this  rock  will  I  build  my  church, 
and  the  gates  of  hell  shall  not  prevail  against  it."  God 
also  gives  us  the  promise  that  he  will  never  leave  nor 
forsake  his  people.  Now  if  the  church  was  so  corrupt  in 
1800  as  is  represented,  then  the  transition  from  a  pure  and 
glorious  church  to  a  corrupt  one,  must  have  been  exceed- 
ingly rapid.  In  much  less  than  fifty  years  every  vestige 
of  her  glory  must  have  perished,  and  her  candlestick  taken 
away.     Every  minister,  who  had  once  raised   his    voice   for 


AND    HEK    ACCUSBBS.  8*7 


the  pure  doctrine  of  the  Gospel,  must  have  been  silenced  or 
corrupted,  and  every  true  believer  must  have  been  departed 
from  the  true  faith  and  taken  to  the  refuge  of  lies  and  false 
doctrine. 

But  of  such  a  sudden  transformation,  or  such  a  rapid, 
retrograde  movement,  as  would  have  been  required  for  the 
entire  church  to  come  down  from  that  exalted  position  in 
which  our  friend  Musser  holds  her,  while  she  was  in  her 
glory,  to  the  depths  in  which  he  would  have  her  at  the 
beginning  of  the  present  century,  we  find  no  record  beyond 
that  of  Musser  and  his  friends,  and  to  what  credit  that  is 
entitled  to,  we  have  already  shown.  Neither  would  we  find 
the  men  of  such  spiritual  power  and  pure  teaching  immedi- 
ately after  the  beginning  of  the  present  century,  if  their 
immediate  predecessors  had  been  so  cornapt  and  dead.  For 
out  of  such  a  dead  church  it  would  be  impossible  to  bring 
forth  men  of  such  vigorous,  spiritual  strength,  such  living 
faith,  without  a  general  awakening  and  reformation.  But 
we  have  no  account,  whether  written  or  traditional,  of  any 
sudden,  powerful  and  wide-spread  awakening  or  reformation 
taking  place  during  that  time. 

The  foregoing  testimonies  are  sufficient  for  our  present  pur- 
pose, namely,  to  show  what  the  church  taught,  what  kind  of  a 
spirit  was  manifested  by  the  leaders,  teachers  and  prominent 
men  of  the  church,  who  lived  and  labored  during  the  time 
referred  to.  In  the  next  chapter  we  will  give  letters  written 
during  that  time,  and  testimonials  from  men  who  are  still 
living,  but  whose  memories  go  back  to  that  very  period,  and 
bring  down  to  us  the  spiritual  condition  of  the  church  in  that 
day,  and  which  give  us,  perhaps  more  of  the  practical  life  of 
the  church  than  what  has  already  been  presented. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

LETTERS  FROM    HEJ^RY   HUNSICKER,  CHRISTIAN   NISSLEY,   JACOB 
HOSTETTER,  AND    HENRY   KOLB. 

We  will  now  proceed  to  give  as  corroboratory  evidence 
to  that  already  given,  and  as  bringing  the  account  of  the 
condition  of  the  church  nearer  to  our  own  time,  the  following 
letters  and  extracts  of  letters,  interspersed  with  such  expla- 
nations and  remarks  as  may  seem  necessary.  These  letters 
passed  between  the  parties  in  the  form  of  a  friendly  cor- 
respondence, in  which  men  are  not  expected  to  confine  them- 
selves strictly  to  religious  topics,  and  if  these  men,  most  of 
whom  were  ministers,  were  the  light-minded,  frivolous,  carnal 
and  worldly  people,  that  Musser  claims  they  were,  then 
surely  it  would  appear  to  a  greater  or  less  extent  in  their 
correspondence,  for  out  of  the  abundance  of  the  heart,  the 
mouth  speaketh.  But  instead  of  this,  all  these  letters,  breathe 
forth  Christian  sentiments ;  they  have  a  religious  tone,  they 
speak  of  the  mercy  of  God,  of  the  gift  of  eternal  life,  of  our 
duties  to  God  ;  of  the  church,  &c.  They  encourage,  exhort 
and  admonish  one  another,  and  in  every  respect  they  give 
proof  of  the  higher  life  in  the  hearts  of  the  writers,  which 
could  not  well  have  been  the  case  with  men  whose  minds 
were  engaged  only  with  the  vain  and  perishable  things  of 
this  present  time. 

The  first  of  these  letters  was  written  by  Henry  Hunsicker 
to  Christian  Herr  of  Pequea,  about  the  time  the  latter  united 
with  the  church.  Henry  Hunsicker  was  a  bishop  in  the 
church.      He   was   born  in   1752,   in   Skippack,   Montgomery 


AKD    HER   ACCtrSERS.  89 


County.  He  was  ordained  to  the  ministry  in  1Y82,  and  died 
July  8th  1836,  at  the  age  of  85  years,  having  served  in  the 
capacity  of  a  minister  54  years,  and  most  of  this  time  as  a 
bishop.  He  is  said  to  have  been  both  an  able  and  eloquent 
speaker,  of  quick  perception,  mild  but  firm  in  his  dicipline, 
and  held  in  high  esteem,  both  as  a  man  and  a  preacher.  Chris- 
tian Herr,  as  may  be  seen  by  the  following  letters,  united 
with  the  church  in  or  about  the  year  1816,  was  chosen  to 
the  office  of  deacon  about  the  year  1820,  advanced  to  the 
ministry  in  1835  and  five  years  later,  in  1840,  ordained  to 
the  office  of  bishop,  and  died  in  1853.  He  was  the  father  of 
Benjamin  Herr,  bishop,  and  Amos  HeiT,  minister,  both  now 
living  in  Lancaster  County,  Pennsylvania. 

The  letter  reads  as  follows  : 

November  30th,  1816. 

"  Highly  esteemed  brother,  I  received  your  letter  of  the 
23rd.  We  are  in  the  enjoyment  of  good  bodily  health,  and 
thank  God  for  his  paternal  love,  and  wish,  as  a  sincere  and 
friendly  greeting,  that  you  may  prosper  according  to  the 
good  pleasure  of  God,  both  temporally  and  spiritually.  May 
the  dear  Savior  graciously  inspire  you  with  his  Holy  Spirit, 
that  your  spiritual  eyes  may  possess  that  needful  keenness 
of  sight  which  will  enable  you  to  prove  the  spirits,  however 
disguised  they  may  be.  Believe  me,  dear  brother,  if  I  had 
the  wings  of  an  eagle,  I  should  already  have  visited  you  per- 
sonally, since  my  return  home  ;  however,  in  spirit  I  have  often 
been  with  you.  My  prayers  and  petitions  often  ascend  to 
the  throne  of  God,  that  he  may  direct  the  good  work,  which 
he  commenced  in  yoii  to  his  glory  and  to  your  salvation. 
Amen. 

"  Should  I  in  some  measure,  open  my  heart  to  you,  dear 
brother,  I  would  say  that  I  believe,-  in  the  first  place,  that 
some  have  been  re-baptized  to  them  *  who  deceive  themselves. 


*  The  followers  of  John  Herr,  or  as  they  are  now  called,  '  Re- 
formed Mennonites.' 

12 


90  THE   MENNONITE    CHURCH 

saying  that  they  received  their  first  baptism,  without  con- 
viction and  without  penitence.  In  the  second  place  their 
forbidding  to  hear  other  denominations  preach  *  is  certainly 
a  spirit  of  sectarianism  of  which  the  apostle  plainly  speaks, 
Col,  2  :  18,  to  the  end  of  the  chapter.  Thirdly,  they  lack 
charity.  Read  1.  Cor.  13  ;  Jn.  13  :  34,  35  ;  and  there  are 
many  other  passages  which  I  have  not  room  to  quote. 
Fourthly,  I  do  not  believe  that  since  Jesus  ascended  to  heaven 
the  gospel  has  been  preached  to  the  whole  world  as  a  testi- 
mony ;  for  when  this  is  done  then  will  the  end  be.  Fifthly, 
what  they  claim  that  the  ministei's  of  the  Old  church,  as 
they  call  them,  do  not  preach  true  i-epentance  and  regenera- 
tion, is  without  foundation.  Sixthly,  though  I  admit,  that 
after  the  outpouring  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  the  church  was  of  one 
mind,  and  that  they  were  anointed  with  the  Holy  Ghost,  I 
do  not  believe  that  there  were  no  spots  or  blemishes.  This 
may  be  seen  when  we  read  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles.  I 
do  not  look  for  such  a  church  (without  spot  or  blemish) 
among  us,  and  I  do  not  believe  that  it  will  be  found  with 
them.  In  the  church  militant,  such  a  church  in  the  full  sense 
of  the  term,  will  not  be  found.  May  God  grant  that  our 
names  may  be  found  in  the  book  of  life,  in  the  church  tri- 
umphant, which  John  saw  in  the  Spirit,  and  which  no  man 
could  number,  from  all  nations,  people  and  tongues,  standing 
before  the  throne  and  clothed  in  white  gai-ments. 

"  Dear  brother,  You  desire  me  to  inform  you  of  the 
principal  doctrines  of  the  Christian  church  on  earth.  Christ, 
the  Son  of  the  living  God,  came  to  us  in  this  vale  of  sorrow 
and  of  tears,  to  seek  sinners  and  save  them,  and  this  power 
of  the  salvation  of  Jesus,  reaches  all  who  believe  in  him  ; 
he  is  the  Author  and  Finisher  of  our  faith.  I  believe  that 
Jesus,  the  founder  of  his  church,  will  be  with  his  church — 
that  is,  with  those  who  have  learned  meekness  and  humilitv 


*  Even  at  funerals  or  on  other  occasions  to  which  one  may 
unexpectedly  or  otherwise  happen  to  be  present,  they  entirely  for- 
bid their  members  to  listen  to  the  preaching  of  others. 


AND    HEB   ACCUSERS.  91 


in  the  school  of  Christ — and  co-operate  with  them  even  unto 
the  end  of  the  world.  Read  Matt.  5  :  1 — 12,  and  also  the  18th 
chapter,  and  you  will  see  what  Jesus  requires  of  us,  and 
how  he  sent  out  his  disciples  to  teach  the  people,  and  to 
baptize  the  believing  in  the  name  of  the  Father,  and  of  the 
Son,  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost :  and  to  teach  them  to  observe 
all  things  whatsoever  he  commanded  them. 

"But,  dear  brother,  It  just  occurred  to  me,  why  thus 
write  to  one  who  himself  is  taught  of  God  ?  I  sincerely 
desire  to  see  you  with  us.  I  have  few  unoccupied  days.  I 
have  this  week  already  baptized  nine  and  cast  two  lots  (chose 
ministers,  bishops  or  deacons  by  lot  and  ordained  them). 
Next  Thursday  there  are  to  be  two  others  cast,  and  in  a  week, 
a  day  of  fasting  and  prayer  has  been  appointed.  On  the  8th 
of  December,  if  the  Lord  will,  there  are  thirty-three  to  be 
baptized  with  us.  How  glad  I  should  be  to  see  you  with  us. 
I  remain  your  sincere  well  wisher,  and  may  the  grace  of  God 
be  with  you  and  all  them  that  love  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ." 

Henry  Hunsicker. 

To  Christian  Herr,  Pequea. 

The  foregoing  letter  breathes  forth  the  spirit,  not  of 
cold  formalists,  but  of  the  warm-hearted,  devoted  child  of 
God,  and  thereby,  as  also  in  the  contents,  gives  evidence  that 
the  life  of  God  truly  did  exist  in  the  church. 

We  will  here  give  two  other  letters  from  Christian 
Nissley  to  the  same  person.  Nissley  also  was  a  bishop  in 
the  church  at  the  time  when  he  wrote  these  letters,  and  from 
them  it  may  be  readily  seen  by  what  spirit  he  was  moved. 
We  are  informed  by  such  as  were  well  acquainted  with  him., 
that  he  was  a  strict  disciplinarian,  from  which  we  may  con- 
clude that  he  must  also  have  been  faithful  in  observing  the 
rules  and  ordinances  of  the  church.  He  was  ordained  to 
the  ministry  in  1803,  and  died  in  1831.  He  was  the  father 
of  Pre.  Peter  Nissley,  now  living  in  Donegal,  near  Mount 
Joy,  with  whom  many  of  our  readers  are  personally 
acquainted. 


92  THE    MENNONITE    CHUBCH 

Mount  Joy  Tp.,  Lancaster  Co.,  Pa., 

March  5th,  1818. 

"  A  friendly  greeting  to  you  beloved  and  respected 
friends,  Christian  Herr,  and  family,  and  all  who  may  hear 
this.  I  send  you  all  a  sincere  and  friendly  greeting,  in  and 
through  the  great  love,  grace,  and  mercy  of  God,  which 
appeared  unto  all  men  through  Jesus  Christ,  and  may  the 
co-operating  power  of  his  Holy  Spirit  be  with  you.     Amen. 

"  Dear  friend  and  brother,  through  the  abundant  and 
gracious  light  and  knowledge  of  God,  which  is  in  Jesus 
Christ,  I  will  seek  to  become  more  obedient  and  faithful  by 
the  keeping  of  his  commandments,  through  crosses,  trials  and 
temptations,  and  to  endure  to  a  happy  end,  which  the  Lord 
the  righteous  Judge  promised  to  give  to  all  them  that  love 
his  appearing.  I  do  not  intend  to  write  much  this  time 
because  I  am  convinced  that  you  are  not  ignorant  of  that 
which  God  requires  of  the  children  of  men,  namely,  that 
they  should  love  him  with  all  their  hearts,  and  with  all  the 
desire  of  their  souls,  and  his  fellow-man  as  himself  :  on  these 
two  commandments,  says  Christ,  hang  all  the  law  and  the 
prophets.  Mark  those  who  have  prophesied  of  Christ  and 
the  new  Testament !  How  could  it  have  been  made  so  as  to 
be  more  easily  understood  ?  Again,  he  says.  Whatsoever  ye 
would  that  men  should  do  to  you,  do  ye  even  so  unto  them. 
O,  this  I  will  ever  bring  home  to  ray  own  heart,  into  the 
secret  chamber,  where  all  believing  souls  rejoice  in  spirit,  and 
love  each  other  as  brethren  and  sisters  ;  and  unite  together 
as  members  of  the  body  of  Christ,  which  is  the  communion 
of  the  saints.  Then  will  all  such  hearts  and  souls  be  able 
to  unite  themselves  with  him  as  the  bridegroom  of  their  souls, 
and  have  the  hope  of  a  better  portion  in  eternity. 

"  The  entire  purpose  and  object  of  my  writing  is  only 
to  show  you  my  love,  and  put  you  in  mind  of  the  little 
acquaintance  we  so  unexpectedly  made  and  enjoyed  together, 
and  since  we  also  by  writing  may  converse  together,  though 
we    be    absent    from    each    other.       We  are,  thanks  be  to 


AND    HER    ACCUSERS.  93 


God,  all  well,  and  hope  this  may  find  you  the  same,  desir- 
ing to  be  remembered  by  you  all." 

Christian  Nissley. 

Mount  Joy  Tp.,  Lancaster  Co.,  Pa. 

Feb.   10th,  1820. 

"Dearly  beloved  Brother,  Christian  Herr,  family  and 
friends,  and  all  whom  this  may  reach,  a  sincere  and  friendly 
greeting  to  you  all,  through  the  great  love,  grace,  and  mercy 
of  our  heavenly  Father,  in  and  through  Jesus  Christ.  Amen. 
The  reason  of  my  writing  to  you  is  alone  the  remembrance 
of  sincere  love  to  you.  For  a  long  time  already  I  have 
desired  to  have  a  conversation  that  might  strengthen  our  love, 
and  prove  edifying  ;  therefore,  I  send  you  this  to  show  you 
that  I  of  tea  think  of  you,  and  that  I  have  this  confidence  in 
you,  that  though  we  are  not  together  personally,  we  may  yet, 
in  mind  and  spirit  comfort  ourselves  and  rejoice  in  God  and 
in  his  grace,  and  truth,  and  in  the  righteousness  of  our 
Savior  Jesus  Christ,  as  Paul  writes  to  his  believing  brethren, 
'Rejoice  in  the  Lord  always  ;  and  again  I  say,  Rejoice.'  In 
such  joy  may  the  Comforter,  the  gracious  and  blessed  Savior 
fit  us  that  we  may  comfort  ourselves  and  encourage  and  edify 
ourselves  one  among  another,  that  we  and  all  men  may  con- 
sider our  salvation,  and  make  a  proper  use  of  the  precious 
time  of  grace,  that  many  precious  souls  may  be  brought  to 
his  rest,  and  to  the  heavenly  feast  where  all  things  are  ready, 
and  nothing  wanting  except  the  coming.  I  for  my  part  have 
always  to  complain  of  my  weakness  and  inaptitude,  to  place 
my  candle  upon  the  candlestick,  that  it  may  give  light  to 
all  them  that  are  in  the  house.  But  that  for  which  I  feel 
the  most  sorry  is  that  there  are  so  many  different  opinions, 
and  that  they  seek  to  hinder  each  other  in  the  way,  while  we 
all  believe  in  one  and  the  same  God. 

"  I  am  reminded  of  what  Paul  says,  Romans  10  :  2,  '  For 
I  bear  them  record  that  they  have  a  zeal  of  God,  but  not 
according  to  knowledge.'  This  Paul  himself  experienced 
when  he  was  so  zealous  for  the  traditions  of  the  fathers,  when 


94  THE    MBNNONITE    CHUKCH 

by  the  brightness  of  the  Lord  he  was  brought  to  the  knowl- 
edge of  the  Lord.  Through  which  circumstance  many  were 
led  to  believe  in  Christ,  as  you,  beloved  brethren  and  sisters, 
all  abundantly  know,  and  it  is  not  necessary  that  I  should 
teach  you,  but  it  affords  me  the  greatest  pleasure  to  manifest 
to  you  a  small  token  of  my  love,  and  to  be  able  to  say  some- 
thing from  the  word  of  life  that  may  be  beneficial  unto  eternal 
life,  in  order  that  we  may  thereby  comfort,  encourage,  and 
edify  one  another,  because  we  do  not  know  how  soon 
the  Bridegroom  will  come.  Yea,  that  we  may  choose  that 
better  part,  and  with  the  children  of  God  suffer  a  little  afflic- 
tion which  hath  the  promise  of  great  reward,  and  will  be  the 
inheritance  of  those  that  abide  in  the  faith,  and  with  the  help 
of  God,  finish  their  course.  All  these  shall  obtain  the  crown. 
Amen. 

"We  are,  thanks  to  God,  well,  and  hope  this  may  also  find 
you  the  same.  I  commend  you  all  to  God  and  his  grace, 
and  wish  you  the  kiss  of  peace.  Written  out  of  love  and  in 
memory  of  your  friendship."  Christian  Nissley. 

Maria  Nissley. 
To  Chi-istian  Herr  and  friends. 

We  give  here  another  letter  written  by  Jacob  Hostetter, 
of  Manheim,  bishop  of  the  church  in  the  northern  part  of 
Lancaster  County,  to  Christian  Herr  and  wife,  some  time 
after  they  had  united  with  the  church.  Peter  Eby  was,  at 
the  time.  Bishop  of  the  district  where  Herr  lived. 

August  1st,  1818. 

"  A  friendly  greeting  to  you,  my  dear  brother  and  sister, 
Christian  Herr  (Pequea),  and  wife,  and  I  hope  these  lines 
may  find  you  well,  which  would  afford  me  sincere  pleasure, 
but  should  it  not  be  the  case,  we  must  receive  with  patience 
what  the  Lord  may  see  fit  to  bestow  upon  us.  Afflictions  are 
often  sent  to  us  of  God  as  means  by  which  we  may  be  brought 
nearer  to  him.  This  has  already  been  the  experience  of 
many,  and  through  afflictions  many  have  been  converted 
to    God.     I    have   often    said   that   the  enjoyment  of   health 


AND  HER  ACCUSERS.  96 


is  the  noblest  gift  of  God  that  we  can  enjoy  in  the  time 
of  grace.  May  God  give  grace  to  all  that  from  him  have 
obtained  the  light,  that  they  may  live  to  the  glory  of  God, 
for  not  one  will  regret  it  in  that  eternal  world  of  joy,  when 
this  life  is  past.  I  I'cpeat  it,  we  should  be  zealous  to  work 
out  the  salvation  of  our  never  dying  souls  in  the  days  of 
health.  This,  however,  can  be  done  only  by  renouncing  sin 
and  with  true  self-denial,  and  in  keeping  the  commandments  ; 
for  Jesus  says,  '  If  any  man  will  come  after  me,  let  him  deny 
himself,  and  take  up  his  cross,  daily,  and  follow  me.'  In 
the  keeping  of  his  commandments  we  have,  through  grace, 
the  promise  of  eternal  life,  as  we  may  plainly  see.  Luke  10  : 
25 — 28.  There  the  Lord  said  to  the  inquiring  lawyer,  '  This 
do  and  thou  shalt  live.'  In  Rev.  22  :  14,  we  read,  '  Blessed 
are  they  that  do  his  commandments,  that  they  may  have  right 
to  the  tree  of  life,  and  may  enter  in  through  the  gates  into 
the  city.'  Therefore  it  is  necessary  to  follow  the  teachings 
of  his  word  and  give  heed  to  the  same  according  to  Matt.  5  : 
17.  '  This  is  my  beloved  Son :  hear  ye  hiim.'  And  the 
apostle  says.  Acts  3  :  22,  23,  '  For  Moses  truly  said  unto  the 
fathers,  A  prophet  shall  the  Lord  your  God  raise  up  unto  you 
of  your  brethren,  like  unto  me  ;  him  shall  ye  hear  in  all 
things  whatsoever  he  shall  say  unto  you  ;  and  it  shall  come 
to  pass  that  every  soul  which  will  not  hear  that  prophet  shall 
be  destroyed  from  among  the  people.' 

"From  this  we  may  understand  that  God,  through  his 
Son  Jesus,  made  known  unto  us  his  will,  for  in  Baruch  4:1, 
we  read,  '  This  is  the  book  of  the  commandments  of  God,  and 
the  law  that  endureth  forever  :  all  they  that  keep  it  shall  come 
to  life  ;  but  such  as  leave  it  shall  die.'  So  also  in  John,  14  :  21, 
we  read,  '  He  that  hath  my  commandments  and  keepeth  them, 
he  it  is  that  loveth  me  :  and  he  that  loveth  me  shall  be  loved 
of  my  Father,  and  I  will  love  him  and  will  manifest  myself 
unto  him.'  Again,  in  the  24th  verse  he  says,  '  He  that 
loveth  me  not,  keepeth  not  my  sayings.'  Brethren  and  sisters, 
and  all  who  have  bowed  our  knees  and  opened  our  lips  before 


96  THE   MENTNONITE    CHURCH 

God  and  the  church,  and  have  accepted  his  word,  and  sealed 
it  with  the  covenant  of  baptism,  as  the  apostle  says.  'As  ye 
have  therefore  received  Christ  Jesus  the  Lord,  so  walk  ye  in 
him  ;  rooted  and  built  up  in  him,  and  established  in  Him.' 
'For  we  are  all  the  children  of  God  by  faith  in  Christ  Jesus. 
For  as  many  of  you  as  have  been  baptized  into  Christ  have 
put  on  Christ.'  Therefore  we  are  in  duty  bound  by  the 
covenant  of  baptism  to  observe  all  things  whatsoever  he 
commanded  us,  for  so  the  Savior  teaches  :  '  Teach  them  to 
observe  all  things  whatsoever  I  have  commanded  you  :  and 
lo,  I  am  with  you  alway,  even  unto  the  end  of  the  world.' 
Therefore,  let  us  not  be  discouraged  in  the  work  which  we 
have  begun,  but,  with  the  help  of  God,  become  faithful  sol- 
diers. For  the  crown  is  not  in  the  beginning,  neither  in  the 
middle,  but  he  that  endureth  to  the  end  shall  be  saved. 

"  Therefore  we  have  to  wage  a  continual  war  against  our 
enemies,  before  we  obtain  the  crown,  as  a  certain  writer 
expresses  himself.  That  he  in  this  world  has  three  enemies, 
viz  :  The  devil,  the  world,  and  his  own  flesh  and  blood  ;  and 
this  no  doubt  evei-y  awakened  person  will  experience.  There- 
fore, the  Savior  in  his  word  has  provided  an  excellent  means, 
because  he  himself,  on  the  mountain  expei-ienced  the  temp- 
tation of  the  devil :  and  this  means  is,  watching  and  prayer, 
which  he  commanded  to  all  his  followers.  Yea,  we  are  to 
watch  and  pray,  and  walk  in  humility,  for  humility  brings 
us  great  blessings,  and  thereby  we  obtain  grace  from  God  ; 
a  great  deal  depends  upon  this,  and  he  who  possesses  this 
virtue,  is  protected  in  his  soul,  blessed  in  his  walk,  blessed  in 
time  and  happy  in  eternity. 

"  These  ^re  the  strongest  weapons  of  defense  which  the 
true  follower  of  Jesus  Christ  has  to  bear,  for  we  know,  in  a 
temporal  sense,  when  an  enemy  is  encamped  before  a  city, 
and  the  city  places  her  guards  before  the  gates  of  the  city, 
and  the  guards  fall  asleep,  the  enemy  that  is  before  the  city 
may  easily  enter  and  spoil  it ;  just  so  it  is  when  we  cease 
to  watch  over  our  hearts  and  neglect  prayer ;  then  comes  the 


AND    HEB   ACCUSERS.  97 


enemy  to  spoil  the  city  of  the  heart ;  for  Satan  is  ever  busy 
in  his  efforts  to  lead  man  from  the  narrow  into  the  broad 
way,  because  he  is  the  enemy  of  the  happiness  of  the  souls 
of  all   men. 

"  I  have  not  written  tliis  as  though  it  was  a  new  thing 
to  you,  for  I  know  that  God  has  already  given  you  so  much 
light  and  knowledge  that  you  fully  comprehend  the  danger 
of  the  soul,  but  I  have  written  it,  prompted  by  a  true  and 
sincere  brotherly  love  as  an  encouragement  to  you  to  exert 
yourself  to  become  more  and  more  faithful  in  living  according 
to  the  will  of  God.  Brother  and  sister,  if  we  only  could 
exert  ourselves  with  all  zeal  and  earnestness  to  walk  in  the 
light,  as  the  apostle  John  directs  us,  1  John  1:7,'  But  if  we 
walk  in  the  light  as  he  is  in  the  light,  we  have  fellowship 
one  with  another,  and  the  Blood  of  Jesus  Christ  his  Son, 
cleanseth  us  from  all  sin.'     Amen. 

"  Continue  in  prayer,  and  watch  therein  ;  pray  also  for 
me,  that  the  Lord  may  open  the  door  of  his  word  to  me,  that 
T  may  speak  of  the  mysteries  of  his  grace,  and  that  he  may 
reveal  unto  me  what  I  shall  say  ;  and  I  will  also  remember 
you  in  my  prayers  as  much  as  the  Lord  gives  me  strength." 

Jacob    Hostetter. 

We  will  close  this  chapter  with  another  testimony  from 
Henry  Kolb,  from  Montgomery  County.  His  letter  was,  also 
written   to  Christian   Herr,  after  he   had  been   chosen  to  the 

ministry.  ^ 

Lower  Salford  Tp.,  Montgomery  Co.,  Pa. 

June  1st.,  1824. 
"  A  friendly  greeting  to  you  respected  friend,  brother, 
and  fellow-pilgrim  in  the  Lord  ;  also  to  your  ministers,  and 
the  whole  church.  Although  not  personally  acquainted 
with  them,  we  are  under  the  same  bond  of  peace,  and  through 
the  grace  of  Jesus  Christ,  are  bound  together  as  one  body, 
and  the  same  Spirit;  one  baptism,  one  God  the  Father  of 
all.  With  this  assurance  I  wish  to  you  and  us  the  grace  of 
God,  peace  through  Jesus  Christ,  and  the  co-operating  and 
13 


98  THB  MEN'N'ONrTE   CHURCH 

comforting  power  of  his  Holy  Sjairit,  through  whom  we  may 
be  fitted  and  made  worthy  to  every  good  work  in  Christ 
Jesus  our  Lord,  to  whom  be  the  glory  for  ever.     Amen. 

"  Your  visit  last  fall  has  induced  me  to  write  these  lines, 
because  it  was  a  great  encouragement  to  me.  Your  com- 
pany was  especially  pleasant  to  rae.  I  have  often  thought  of 
you,  especially  of  the  time  when  I  left  you  in  Franconia  ;  but 
there  also  nothing  was  left  me  but  to  say,  Go  on  in  the  name 
of  the  Lord.  The  Lord  will  be  with  you.  Do  his  work,  and 
he  will  lead  you,  till  under  his  blessing  you  may  reach  your 
home  in  peace.     I  was  reminded  of  the  words  of  the  poet : 

'  An  Gottes  Gnacl  und  milden  Segen, 

1st  Alles  ganz  und  gar  gelegen  : 

Und  ohne  Gottes  Huld  und  hiinmel's  Gunst, 

1st  alles  Menschen  Than  umsonst.' 

"'Finally,  ray  brethren,'  says  the  apostle,  'Be  strong  in 
the  Lord  and  in  the  power  of  his  might :  put  on  the  whole 
armor  of  God,  that  ye  may  be  able  to  stand  against  the  wiles 
of  the  devil.'  Eph.  6  :  10,  11.  Sincere  prayer  will  make  us 
strong  to  withstand  all  the  fiery  darts  of  the  wicked.  There- 
fore, since  we  know  these  things,  let  us  be  zealous,  for  we 
all  desire  to  behold  each  other  there  in  that  glorious  bright- 
ness of  God,  where  there  is  joy  and  fullness  of  joy  for  ever 
and  ever  at  his  right  hand  *  *  *  *.  With  this  I  will  close. 
You  will,  however,  find  my  writing  full  of  weakness  and 
imperfection,  but  if  I  could  have  made  it  better  I  would  have 
done  so.  The  apostle  commends  his  brethren  to  God  and 
the  word  of  his  grace,  who  is  mighty  to  preserve,  to  edify, 
and  to  give  the  inheritance  unto  them  that  are  sanctified.  If 
the  apostle  gave  this  commendation,  why  should  not  we  do 
likewise?  Written  from  your  weak  brother,  friend,  and  well 
wisher."  Henky  Kolb. 

To  Christian  Herr,  Minister  of  the  church  in  Lancaster  Co. 

In  all  the  foregoing  letters  we  have  taken  the  liberty  to 
make  the  necessary  grammatical  corrections,  but  in  no  case 
have  we  changed  the  author's  meaning. 


AKD   HER  ACCtJSEES.  99 


Our  object  in  giving  these  letters  is  to  show  our  readers 
the  spirit  which  pervaded  the  hearts  of  the  men  who  wrote 
them.  To  show  whether  we  might  reasonably  conclude 
from  the  tenor  of  these  letters  that  the  writers  were  unconvert- 
ed and  unregenerated  persons,  or  whether  we  might  conclude 
that  they  were  j^rompted  and  directed  by  the  love  of  God; 
that  they  felt  a  warm  interest  in  the  church,  and  especially 
in  the  recently  converted  ;  and  that  they  in  Christian  love  and 
zeal  sought  to  fulfill  their  duties.  If  they  had  been  light- 
minded  and  jesting  characters,  unconverted  and  not  full  of  the 
grace  of  God,  instead  of  speaking  of  his  love,  of  the  salvation 
of  men,  of  our  duties  to  God  and  of  the  Christian  virtues,  they 
would  much  more  have  written  of  the  thoughts  and  things 
with  which  their  hearts  were  filled,  "  for,"  as  we  have  before 
remarked,  "  out  of  the  abundance  of  the  heart  the  mouth 
speaketh,"  We  also  observe  that  these  letters  were  written 
by  different  men,  from  different  churches,  and  different  places, 
which  gives  us  reason  to  believe  that  the  mind  and  spirit 
manifested  in  these  letters,  prevailed,  at  least,  among  the  min- 
istry, pretty  generally.  On  the  whole,  these  letters  give  us 
a  very  excellent  testimony  of  the  spiritual  life  then  existing 
in  the  church,  and  if  we  compare  it  with  the  testimonies  given 
in  the  preceding  chapters,  it  harmonizes  well,  and  thus  we 
have  a  two-fold  evidence  of  the  correctness  of  our  assertions, 
that  the  church  in  this  time  was  not  a  dead  church,  but  a 
living  church.  God  grant  that  it  may  always  remain  a  living 
church. 


CHAPTER  YIII. 

LETTERS    PROM    VARIOUS    PERSONS,    &C. 

On  the  31st  of  January  1843,  Christian  Herr,  being  then 
bishop,  wrote  a  long  letter  to  John  Herr,  the  so-called  leader 
and  founder  of  the  Reformed  Mennonite  Church,  in  reply  to  a 
correspondence  which  had  passed  between  them,  in  reference 
to  the  assertions,  accusations  and  publications  of  John  Herr 
against  Christian  Herr,  and  the  church  in  general.  In  this 
letter  Christian  Herr  gives  his  positive  and  emphatic  testimony 
against  the  truth  of  the  wholesale  denunciations  and  accusa- 
tions of  John  Herr  against  him  and  the  church,  and  shows 
that  in  several  instances  John  Herr  misconstrued  his  words 
and  misrepresented  him.  He  also  unhesitatingly  denies  and 
declares  untrue,  a  number  of  personal  charges  which  John 
Herr  had  brought  against  him.  He  also  declares  the  charges 
of  John  Herr,  that  the  ministers  of  the  Old  Church  were 
unfaithful,  unconverted  and  deceivers  of  the  people,  and  that 
all  manner  of  gross  sins  and  carnal  indulgences  were  tolerated 
in  the  church,  without  reproof,  as  unfounded  and  false,  and 
sharply  reproves  him  for  his  harsh  and  unjust  condemnation 
of  all  professors  outside  of  his  own  church,  and  also  for  claim- 
ing to  himself  and  his  followei's  the  honor  of  being  the  only 
true  church  upon  earth,  and  kindly  warns  him  of  the  danger  of 
such  an  assumption.  He  further  states  that  the  members  of 
John  Herr's  Church  are  just  as  worldly-minded  as  others  ;  that 
they  claim  to  be  the  pure  church  of  God  which  existed  in  the 
days  of  the  Martyr's,  while  they  have  an  abundant  display  of 
pride  and  superfluity  in  their  houses,  and  that  their  children 
are  so  given  to  pride,  that  when  other  parents  make  an  effort 


AND    HER   ACCUSERS.  101 


to  bring  up  their  children  properly  and  with  modest  apparel, 
the  children  of  the  Reformed  Mennonites  are  referred  to  as 
examples  of  pride  andjjutward  adornment. 

Though  placed  under  circumstances  in  which  most  men 
would  have  been  prompted  to  severity,  his  letter,  throughout, 
while  containing  many  keen  reproofs  and  unhesitating  denials 
of  wrong  and  unjust  charges,  breathes  forth  the  spirit  of  love 
and  friendly  exhortation,  and  closes  as  follows.  "I  feel  a 
peaceful  determination  hereafter  to  have  no  disputation  on  the 
subject  of  religion,  either  with  you  or  any  other  person,  neither 
by  writing  nor  orally,  neither  publicly  nor  privately,  as  the 
enemy  has  little  regard  by  what  means  he  brings  enmity 
between  men,  only  so  that  he  is  able  to  cause  strife  and  hatred. 
Therefore,  my  friend,  let  us  be  careful  that  we  be  not  caught 
in  his  net.     Herewith  I  commend  you  to  God  and  his  grace." 

From  this  letter  we  further  make  the  following  extracts, 
from  which  the  reader  may  judge  for  himself. 

"What  you  write  and  teach  in  reference  to  conversion  and 
regeneration  is  correct,  only  with  this  difference,  that  not  all 
are  led  through  the  same  experience,  but  whether  it  is  enjoined 
upon  a  preacher  to  relate  his  conversion  over  and  over  again 
publicly  to  the  people,  I  leave  for  you  to  decide." 

"But  that  there  are  two  kingdoms  on  earth,  namely.  The 
church  of  God,  and  the  church  of  darkness,  the  holy  Scriptures 
plainly  enough  inform  every  one  that  loves  God  and  searches 
them  ;  and  that  these  two  churches  are  separated  from  each 
other  in  every  person,  who  by  the  convincing  grace  of  God 
permits  himself  to  be  led  by  true  repentance  to  God,  and  faith 
in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  the  gospel  demonstrates  unto  us  as 
clear  as  the  light  of  day;  and  when  those,  in  whom  this  sepa- 
ration spoken  of  has  taken  place,  learn  of  Jesus,  true  meekness 
and  humility  of  heart,  and  remain  faithful  and  watchful  in 
prayer  unto  the  end,  all  such  members  of  his  church,  Jesus 
will  know  to  find,  and  gather  them  together  from  the  ends  of 
the  earth  ;  so  that  there  will  be  such  a  multitude  that  no  one 
will  be   able   to    number   them,   of   all   nations,  people,  and 


102  THE   MEITNONITE   CHURCH 

tongues,  as  John  saw.  Rev.  V.  This  church  of  God  upon 
earth,  had  its  beginning  with  our  first  parents  Adam  and  Eve, 
and  through  all  times  until  the  present  day,  it  has  remained, 
and  will  remain  until  the  end  ;  and  in  proof  of  this  the  attent- 
ive i-eader  will  find,  in  the  word  of  God,  abundant  evidence. 
He  will  also  find  that  of  such  persons  the  apostles  organized 
the  apostolic  church,  and  prescribed  and  left  unto  them  rules 
and  ordinances,  as  to  how  the  church  of  Christ  should  be  con- 
ducted, namely,  where  a  union  of  such  persons  is  formed  and 
a  church  organized  ;  and  such  have  existed  in  the  world  from 
the  days  of  the  apostles  unto  the  present  time,  as  already 
referred  to  from  the  testimonies  of  the  Martyr's  Mirror.  All 
such  churches  had,  and  still  have,  just  as  much  the  keys  of 
the  kingdom  of  heaven  (that  is,  the  power  to  bind  and 
unbind,  according  to  Matt.  16  :  19),  as  you  and  your  church  ; 
for  they  had  and  still  have  the  gospel  preserved  by  the  pi-otect- 
ing  care  of  God  which  contains  the  key  to  bind  as  well  as  to 
loose ;  and  all  those  whom  the  key  of  the  gospel  binds  on 
earth  shall  also  be  bound  in  heaven  ;  and  all  those  whom  the 
key  of  the  gospel  looses  on  earth,  shall  be  loosed  in  heaven. 
(Read  what  Hieronymus  teaches  on  Matt.  16,  Martyr's  Mirror 
page  109,  Ger.  Ed.;   Eng.  Ed.  page  135)." 

From  the  above  remarks  the  attentive  reader  may  readily 
determine  the  views  of  the  aged  brother  on  the  subject  of 
repentance  and  conversion,  and  we  also  plainly  see  what  he 
believed  constituted  an  acceptable,  true,  christian  church.  He 
also  gives  his  views  in  reference  to  church  rules,  ordinances 
and  discipline  in  such  a  manner  that  no  one  need  be  mistaken 
in  regard  to  them.  His  entire  letter,  though  containing,  as 
before  remarked,  many  sharp  reproofs,  bi-eathes  forth  the  spirit 
of  love  and  tender  anxiety  for  the  welfare  of  souls,  for  the 
church  and  even  for  his  opposers.  John  Holdeman,  who  also 
read  this  letter,  in  his  "History  of  the  Church  of  God,"  says, 
concerning  this  letter,  "As  far  as  I  could  judge  of  the  humility 
and  spirit  of  the  writer,  I  am  inclined  to  think  that  Christian 
Herr's  letter  breathes  the  most  humble  and  lowly  spirit." 


AND    HER    ACCUSERS.  103 


One  thing  in  this  letter  appears  to  us  especially  remarka- 
ble, and  that  is  this,  that  Christian  Herr  should  be  looked  upon 
and  accounted  as  an  impenitent  and  unconverted  man,  and  a 
teacher  and  leader  of  a  dead  and  unconverted  church,  when 
upon  the  subject  of  repentance  and  conversion,  he  according 
to  his  own  words,  holds  and  acknowledges  as  correct,  the  same 
views  as  those  which  his  accuser  maintains  and  teaches. 

We  will  now  give  a  number  of  testimonies  from  witnesses 
still  living,  who  can  yet  call  to  mind  scenes  and  incidents, 
connected  with  the  history,  condition,  customs  and  practices  of 
the  church  during  the  time  in  which  these  accusations  are 
made  against  th.e  church,  and  some  reach  back  even  to  the 
time  before  the  Reformed  Mennonite  Church  had  an  existence. 

The  kind  reader  will  bear  in  mind,  as  we  noticed  in  some 
of  our  foVmer  articles,  that  John  Herr,  in  his  writings,  charges 
the  Old  Mennonite  Church  with  all  manner  of  immoralities, 
corruptions  and  gross  sins  which  were  practiced  by  the  mem- 
bers, without  reproof  or  notice  being  taken  thereof  by  the 
church.  Daniel  Musser  in  his  book  reiterates  these  charges 
and  vouches  for  the  truth  thereof  and  produces  various  evi- 
dences as  proof  of  them,  to  some  of  which  allusion  has  been 
made  in  some  of  the  preceding  chapters.  He  also  desires,  if 
these  statements  are  not  correct,  to  have  them  refuted  and  says 
that  the  older  members  know  that  they  are  true. 

For  these  reasons  we  give  the  following  testimonies,  viz, 
First,  to  show  the  incorrectness  of  the  charges  of  John  Herr 
and  Daniel  Musser  against  the  church  ;  and.  Secondly,  To 
show  the  general  character,  conduct,  doctrines,  and  practice  of 
the  bishops  and  ministers  in  the  church  in  those  times,  as  well 
as  the  general  condition  of  the  church. 

With  these  remarks  our  readers  will  no  doubt  understand 
the  bearing  of  what  follows. 

Bro.  S.  G.  Kindig,  of  Lancaster  County,  Pa.,  writes,  in 
substance  as  follows  :  "  I  will  give  you  some  information 
about  the  Mennonite  Church  for  sixty  years  past.  Francis 
Herr's   father   was   a  faithful    minister    in    the    church   and 


104  THE    MENNONITE    CHURCH 

remained  so  to  the  end.  He  often  complained  of  the  actions 
of  his  son  Frank,  and  seemed  to  trouble  himself  about  him. 
As  far  back  as  I  can  remember  there  was  always  peace  and 
union  in  the  church,  through  our  vicinity  and  conference,  with 
the  exception  of  what  took  place  in  Weaverland.  There  were 
also  strict  rules  observed,  and  none  of  those  things  of  which 
Musser  writes  were  allowed.  The  church  always  stood  in 
good  report  by  the  world  and  all  others,  except  by  the 
Reformed  Mennonites.  If  any  members  were  disobedient  and 
did  not  observe  the  requirements  of  the  gospel  and  the  rules 
of  the  church,  they  were  suspended  or  expelled  for  better  fruit. 
And  this  was  done  ever  since  I  know  anything  about  the 
church."  S.  G.  Kindig. 

The  following  letter  was  addressed  to  Bro.  Amos  Herr. 

November  23rd,  1876. 
"Dear  Friend  and  Brother,  Amos  Herr,  Since  I  promised 
to  write  you  and  am  a  poor  writer,  and  in  all  things  feeling 
my  inability,  I  tried  to  get  another  and  an  older  brother  to  do 
this.  I  visited  Peter  Nissley  but  did  not  find  him  at  home, 
and  therefore  asked  the  aged  Christian  Nissley,  whether  he 
knew  of  a  time  when  the  church  was  dead,  and  repentance 
toward  God  and  faith  in  Jesus  Christ  were  no  longer  preached, 
when  the  new  life  was  no  longer  a  requirement  for  church 
membership,  and  whether  there  ever  was  a  time,  in  which 
adulterers,  fornicators,  drunkards  and  such  like  were  no  longer 
reproved  and  put  away  from  the  church  ?  He  told  me,  he  did 
not  know  otherwise  than  this  was  done  (viz,  that  the  gospel 
was  preached  and  transgi-essors  reproved  and  expelled).  And 
I,  for  my  part,  also  do  not  know  otherwise  ;  and  I  was  present 
on  one  occasion,  upon  which  the  old  deceased  brother,  Jacob 
Hostetter  excluded  a  brother.  This  may  have  been  thirty 
years  or  more  ago.  So  much  from  your  unworthy  brother, 
<fec."  Christian  Newcomer. 

Cumberland  Co.,  Pa., 1876. 

"Heni'v  Rupp  was  a  minister  in  our  church.      He  was 


AND    HER   ACCUSERS.  106 


ordained  in  1810.  He  was  a  very  earnest  preacher.  He 
preached  repentance  and  conversion.  Peter  Eby  was  the 
bishop  who  usually  served  us.  He  was  a  strict  disciplinarian 
and  reproved  the  transgressor.  He  received  me  into  the 
church,  and  his  instructions  to  us  were,  that  without  repent- 
ance to  God  and  faith  in  Jesus  Christ  all  outward  ordinances 
were  vain."  Samuel  Zimmerman. 

Cumberland  Co.,  Pa., 1876. 

"Henry  Rupp  moved  from  Lancaster  Co.,  to  Cumberland, 
in  1807.  In  1810  he  was  ordained  to  the  ministry.  He  was 
an  earnest,  gospel  minister.  He  admonished  the  transgressors 
and  suspended  thcm  from  the  communion,  while  gross  trans- 
gressors were  expelled  from  the  church.  Peter  Eby  was  usu- 
ally our  bishop,  and  before  him  Samuel  Nissley  generally  held 
communion  for  us.  They  were  both  strict  disciplinarians- 
After  I  was  chosen  to  the  ministry  and  attended  conference 
the  first  time,  Bro.  Nissley  led  the  conference.  The  same 
rules  of  order  which  we  now  have,  he  taught  us  then,  and  that 
with  great  earnestness.  Peter  Eby  baptized  me  and  ordained 
me  to  the  ministry,  and  I  am  convinced  that  they  then  taught 
and  maintained  the  doctrine  of  repentance  to  God,  faith  in 
Jesus  and  a  new  life,  just  as  much  as  now." 

George  Rupp. 

The  brethren  Samuel  Zimmerman  and  Geo.  Rupp  are  both 
ministers  in  the  church  in  Cumberland  (Jo.,  and  Bro.  Rupp  is 
now  78  years  old  and  has  been  in  the  ministry  44  years. 

"  I  can  testify  that  sixty-five  or  seventy  years  ago  I  was 
well  acquainted  with  the  bishops,  Jacob  Hostetter  and  Benja- 
min Hershey  *,  and  that  they  conducted  the  church  in  accord- 
ance with  the  word  of  God.     I  am  now  90  years  of  age. 

her 

Mary  X  Swar. 

mark 

"  I  can  testify  that  sixty  years  ago  I  was  well  acquainted 

*  Of  Bishop  Hershey  it  is  said  that  he  at  one  time  got  into  diffi- 
culty on  account  of  his  son-in-law,  through  which  he  was  considera- 
bly censured,  but  it  is  believed,  was  not  in  fault- 

14 


106  THE   MENNONITE    CHURCH 

with  the  bishops,  Jacob  Hostetter  and  Peter  Eby,  and  that  they 
conducted  the  affairs  of  the  church  in  accordance  with  the 
gospel,  and  I  also  saw  Jacob  Hostetter  excommunicate  a  man 
from  the  church.     I  am  now  in  my  YQth  year." 

Daniel  Erb. 

Manor  Tp.,  Lancaster  Co.,  Pa.,  1876. 
"I  well  knew  Bishop  Jacob  Brubacher.  He  was  a  true 
gospel  preacher.  He  preached  and  enforced  sincere  repent- 
ance and  a  change  of  heart,  because  without  this  all  the  out- 
ward commands  will  not  bring  us  salvation.  He  was  a  strict 
disciplinarian.  I  knew  him  76  years  ago  and  never  heard 
anything  bad  about  him.  He  received  into  the  church,  and 
excluded  therefrom  whenever  it  was  necessary." 

Christian  Mellinger. 

Manor  Tp.,  Lancaster  Co.,  Pa.,  1876. 
"We  the  undersigned  were  very  well  acquainted  with 
Bishop  Jacob  Brubacher.  He  was  a  true  gospel  preacher.  He 
preached  and  insisted  upon  sincere  repentance  and  a  change 
of  heart  because  without  this  all  outward  commands  are  of 
no  benefit  to  our  salvation.     He  was  a  good  disciplinarian.'' 

Abraham  Wither  (Minister), 
Jacob  Wither, 
Abraham  R.  Miller, 
Christian  Charles. 

Lancaster  Tp.,  Lancaster  Co.,  Pa.,  1876. 
"Jacob  Brubacher  was  bishop  in  our  church,  and  a  true 
gospel  preacher.  He  baptized  me.  In  his  instructions  to  the 
applicants  for  baptism,  he  taught  repentance  to  God,  faith  in 
the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  and  a  new  life,  and  this  he  also 
preached."  Christian  Herr  (Minister). 

A  pious  old  sister  sends  the  following  : 

Salisbury  Tp.,  Lancaster  Co.,  Pa.,  1876. 
"Peter  Eby  was  our  minister.      He  was  chosen   to  the 
ministry  in  ISOO,     He  was  a  strict  disciplinarian.     I  remember 


AND    HEB  ACCirSftRS.  101 


that  my  uncle  (a  minister)  was  deposed  from  the  ministry  in 
1809,  for  taking  undue  advantage  of  a  friend. 

"In  1811  Bishop  Eby  expelled  a  brother  on  account  of 
drunkenness  and  in  1815  he  expelled  another  for  adultery,  and 
in  1823  another  for  drunkenness."  Anna  Hershey. 

Buyerstown,  Lancaster  Co.,  Pa.,  Nov.  22nd,  18Y6, 
"  This  is  to  certify  that  I,  Christian  Metzler,  now  in  my 
86th  year,  became  acquainted  with  Peter  Eby,  bishop  in  the 
Old  Mennonite  Church,  in  Weaverland,  where  I  attended 
church  before  I  was  married,  which  was  in  1819.  I  knew  of 
him  being  called  there  to  settle  a  dispute.  The  said  Peter  Eby 
was  the  first  bishop  in  the  Pequea  Church,  to  which  place  I 
moved  in  1831,  and  from  that  time  was  personally,  acquainted 
with  him  and  conversed  with  him  frequently  until  his  death, 
and  I  can  testify  that  he  was  a  strict  housekeeper  in  the  church, 
and  excommunicated  from  the  church,  those  who  did  not  live 
in  accordance  with  the  Old  Mennonite  Faith,  and  know  of 
certain  persons  who  were  taken  into  the  church  by  him,  and 
excommunicated  some  years  before  I  moved  here." 

Christian  Metzler. 

Concerning  the  doctrine  of  Peter  Eby,  hundreds  can 
testify  that  he  preached  a  genuine  gospel  doctrine.  He  was  a 
most  remarkable  man.  Harris,  in  his  History  of  Lancaster 
County,  has  given  his  biography,  which  the  reader  will  find 
in  a  subsequent  chapter  of  the  work,  to  the  correctness  of 
which  many  can  bear  testimony. 

West  Lampeter,  Nov.  21st,  18Y6. 
"Peter  Eby  was  ordained  to  the  jninistry  in  1800.  He 
was  the  bisliop  that  officiated  in  our  district.  He  was  a  very 
zealous,  gospel  minister  and  a  strict  disciplinarian.  In  1807  he 
excommunicated  a  member  at  Strasburg  (our  district),  for  for- 
nication ;  some  years  later  one  for  misconduct  and  one  for 
intemperance.  The  theme  of  his  discourses  was,  repentance 
to  God,  faith  in  Christ  Jesus  and  obedience  to  his  word.  He 
baptized  me  and  my  wife,  and  well  do  I  remember  how  he 


108  THE   MENNONITE    CBtURCa 

impressed  upon  us  in  the  instructions  he  gave  us,  the  need  of  a 
living  faith  in  Christ,  and  a  newness  of  life,  without  which  all 
ordinances  are  vain.     Yours  in  love."        Benjamin  Herr. 

Bro.  Herr  is  now  bishop  in  the  same  district  where  Peter 
Eby,  in  his  day,  officiated. 

Donegal,  Lancaster  Co.,  Pa.,  1876. 
"Samuel  Nissley  was  ordained  to  the  ministry  in  the 
beginning  of  the  nineteenth  century  He  was  the  bishop  in 
our  district.  He  was  a  strict  gospel  minister.  His  theme  of 
doctrine  was  repentance  to  God,  faith  in  Christ,  newness  of 
life  and  obedience  to  his  commands.  Transgressors  were 
reproved,  and  if  no  amendment  of  life  was  manifested,  they 
were  suspended  from  communion,  and  those  who  committed 
gross  sins  were  excommunicated.  Jacob  tlostetter  officiated 
as  bishop  in  our  district,  after  the  decease  of  Bishop  Samuel 
Nissley.  He  taught  the  same  doctrine  and  was  a  very  zealous 
minister  and  a  strict  disciplinarian.  I  know  of  such  that  were 
reproved  and  excommunicated  by  him.  I  was  much  in  com- 
pany with  Bishop  Peter  Eby  and  Bishop  Christian  Herr 
(Pequea),  and  I  often  heard  them  preach,  and  can  give  them 
the  same  testimony.  We  also  had  some  short-coming  members 
then  and  have  yet."  Peter  Nissley. 

(Minister  in  the  Donegal  Church). 

Earl  Tp.,  Lancaster  Co.,  Pa., 

Nov.  18th,  ISYG. 
"Since  you  desire  to  know  something  in  reference  to 
Bishop  Henry  Martin,  I  will  inform  you  that  as  near  as  I  can 
learn,  he  was  bishop  already  before  the  close  of  the  last 
century  and  until  1825.  You  also  desire  to  know  whether  he 
ever  excommunicated  members  on  account  of  transgressions. 
I  recollect  that  in  my  youth  I  heard  the  old  brethren  say,  that 
he  kept  house  very  strictly  in  accordance  with  the  word  ;  and 
if  I  remember  rightly,  he  expelled  his  own  brother-in-law  on 
account  of  intemperance,  and  severely  reprimanded  his  son 
and    admonished    him    to    repentance.      Of    others    I    have 


AUD  ItEB  ACCirSBRS.  109 


positive  information  that  he  excommunicated  them.  Bishop 
Jacob  Zimmerman  often  told  me  that  he  earnestly  sought  to 
conduct  the  church  after  the  rules  and  instructions  of  old 
Plenry  Martin.  1  also  myself  have  witnessed  a  number  of 
excommunications  by  him.  I  am  very  sure,  if  this  question 
would  have  arisen  twenty  years  ago,  before  all  the  older 
people  had  died,  there  would  have  been  many  who  could 
testify  to  the  above  and  to  a  great  deal  more.  The  grace  of 
God  be  with  you  all."  George  Weaver. 

(Bishop  of  the  Church  in  Weaverland). 

Manor  Tp.,  Lancaster  Co.,  Pa.,  1876. 
"  I  heard  preacher  Jacob  Brubacher  preach  from  my  youth, 
and  he  was  a  very  zealous  preacher.  He  taught  repentance 
and  a  change  of  heart  very  earnestly,  and  that  without  these 
the  outward  commands  and  ordinances  would  be  no  benefit  to 
us  as  regards  our  salvation.  He  was  bishop  in  our  church.  1 
remember  that  he  expelled  three  members  from  the  church,  one 
for  taking  undue  advantage  of  his  neighbor,  one  on  account  of 
of  a  quarrel,  and  one  for  drunkenness."        John  Charles. 

Petersburg,  Lancaster  Co.,  Pa,, 

Nov.  lYth,  1876. 
"Herewith  I  send  a  couple  of  testimonies.  I  visited 
another  old  sister  over  80  years  of  age,  who  can  bear  the  same 
testimony  in  favor  of  the  old  bishops,  but  is  entirely  helpless 
80  that  she  could  not  write  her  name.  There  are  also  other 
brethren  of  from  60  to  70  years,  who  said,  that  as  far  back  as 
they  could  remember,  the  chui'ch  was  conducted  in  the  same 
way  as  now.  The  old  witnesses  think  that  the  bishops  of  the 
past,  were  more  strict  than  thosie  of  the  present  time  and  did 
not  pass  by  so  much."  John  B.  Landis  (Ministei-). 

Lancaster  Tp.,  Lancaster  Co.,  Pa.,  1876. 
"In  my  youth  I  knew  preacher  Jacob  Brubacher.     When 
I  lived  with  my  uncle,  Andreas  Shenk,  he  and  preacher  Benja- 
min Hershey  and  deacon  Mellinger  came  to  our  house.     They 
had  been   to  see  Francis  Herr.      They  said,  they  had  tried 


110  THE   MENNONITE    CHITRCH 

everything  to  bring  him  to  see  and  acknowledge  his  fault,  but 
he  would  not  do  anything,  but  greatly  abused  them.  They 
also  said,  they  had  borne  long  enough  with  him  ;  they  would 
not  go  to  see  him  any  more,  and  could  no  longer  hold  him  as 
a  brother.  The  difficulty  was  about  a  horse  He  had  taken 
undue  advantage  of  a  neighbor.  Brubacher  was  bishop  in  our 
church,  and  when  any  committed  a  fault,  they  were  excluded 
from  communion,  and  if  they  did  not  reform  they  were  excom- 
municated. I  knew  four  whom  he  excommunicated.  He  bap- 
tized me,  and  in  his  instructions  he  taught  us  that  without 
repentance  to  God  and  faith  in  Jesus,  baptism  would  be  no 
benefit.  He  told  us  that  the  whole  ocean  would  not  wash 
away  a  single  sin."  Susanna  Herr. 

Signed  for  her,  by  her  request,  by  her  son,  Pre.  Christian 
Herr  in  the  presence  of  five  witnesses.  Her  sight  is  nearly 
gone.  This  sister  is  85  years  old,  but  possesses  a  most  extra- 
ordinary memory  for  her  age.  There  are  persons  now  living 
to  whom  she  i-elated  this  matter  about  Francis  Herr,  more  than 
forty  years  ago,  precisely  as  here  given. 

The  foregoing  statement  proves  beyond  a  doubt,  that  the 
statement  of  Daniel  Musser,  that  Francis  Heir  had  withdrawn 
from  the  Old  Mennonite  Church,  because  she  was  so  corrupt 
that  he  could  no  longer,  with  a  good  conscience,  remain  in  her 
communion,  is  incorrect.  These  brethren,  as  they  said,  had 
visited  him  for  the  last  time,  and  declared  that  they  could  bear 
with  him  no  longer.  Besides  this  we  have  also  positive  evi- 
dence from  several  others  that  he  was  expelled.  Hence  we 
need  have  no  hesitation  in  making  the  statement,  that  Francis 
Herr,  instead  of  leaving  the  church  to  preserve  his  own  con- 
science void  of  offense,  W(ts  exjyelled  as  a  transgressor  and 
a  disobedient  and  unfaithful  member  and  that  Daniel 
Musser's  statement  to  the  contrary,  is  altogether  incorrect  and 
without  foundation. 

Mount  Joy,  Lancaster  Co.,  Pa., 

Dec.  5th,  18V6. 

"I  heard   old   Bishop   Jacob   Hostetter  preach  from  my 


AND    HEB   ACCTTSERS.  Ill 

youth  to  the  time  of  his  death.  He  preached  repentance  and 
conversion.  He  baptized  my  wife  and  me  and  admitted  us 
into  the  church.  We  were  instructed  that  witliout  true  repent- 
ance and  faith  in  Jesus  Christ,  baptism  and  admission  into  the 
church  would  avail  us  nothing.  He  admonished  us  to  be  true 
to  the  Lord  our  God  ;  to  watch  and  pray  ;  to  remain  stead- 
fast and  comply  with  the  word  of  God,  and  not  conform 
ourselves  unto  the  world.  Some  of  his  remarks  are  still  fresh 
in  my  memory.  When  he  commenced  to  preach,  he  would 
ask  the  blessing  of  God,  'that  his  Spirit  might  rest  upon  us, 
be  with  us,  among  us  and  even  in  us.'  And  again,  'You  say 
you  believe  :   show  it  by  thy  works.'  " 

Gabriel  Bear. 

Mechanicsburg,  Cumberland  Co.,  Pa., 

Dec.  20th,  1876. 
"  With  the  assistance  of  Bro.  Gayman,  of  Dauphin  Co., 
who  is  93  years  old,  I  will  try  and  give  you  a  statement,  as  to 
how  the  church  was  conducted.  My  father  was  ordained  to 
the  ministry  about  1817,  as  near  as  I  can  find  out.  He  was 
ordained  to  the  office  of  bishop  in  1825.  Bro.  Gayman  says, 
the  church  was  more  ardent  and  zealous  in  the  cause  of  Christ 
then,  than  it  is  now.  They  preached  repentance  and  faith  in 
Christ,  and  were  more  strict  in  church  discipline  and  the  ordi- 
nances than  they  are  now.  I  well  know  that  my  father 
expelled  Daniel  Diel  for  drunkenness  and  one  other  person 
whom  I  will  not  name,  and  different  others  were  put  back. 
Bro.  Gayman  also  well  recollects  all  this.  Some  of  these 
things  happened  when  I  was  yet  at  home.  This  was  the 
manner  in  which  the  church  was  conducted  at  that  time,  and 
you  can  rely  upon  this  statement  as  correct.  I  would  have 
written  sooner,  but  wanted  to  see  what  brother  Gayman  still 
recollected."  Jacob  Mumaw. 

Lancaster,  Pa.,  Dec.  2nd,  1876. 
"The  following  lines  have  reference  to  a  book  published 
by  Daniel  Musser,  under  the  title  of  the  '■'■Reformed  Menno- 


112  THE   MBNNONITE    CHURCH 

nite  Chxirch^''  <&c.,  in  which  the  author  censures,  accuses  and 
defames  the  Old  Mennonite  Church  for  tolerating  all  manner 
of  transgressions,  and  offending  members  in  the  church, 
without  separating  or  excommunicating  them.  I  will,  there- 
fore, give  some  account  of  events  which  transpired  in  the 
church,  from  my  own  personal  recollections,  to  show  that 
fi'iend  Musser  is  in  error,  and  that  he  unjustly  accuses  the  Old 
Mennonite  Church  as  he  does.  I  recollect  when  I  was  a  boy, 
fouiteen  or  fifteen  years  old,  I  was  in  church,  in  the  Conestoga 
Township  District,  in  Lancaster  County,  where  Peter  Eby  had 
a  number  of  applicants  to  baptize  He  directed  his  discourse 
to  show  and  teach  the  necessity  of  repentance  and  faith  before 
baptism.  After  his  sermon  he  came  forward  and  said  to  the 
applicants.  If  their  desire  was  yet  the  same  as  they  had 
expressed  that  morning,  they  should  come  forward,  and  then 
added  the  following  words,  "But  if  any  of  you  should  yet 
want  more  time  for  the  purpose  of  searching  the  Scriptures 
more  thoroughly,  in  order  to  be  better  prepared  to  enter  into 
this  holy  covenant,  you  shall  freely  be  at  liberty  to  do  so." 
All,  however,  came  forward,  were  baptized  and  received  into 
the  church" as  members. 

"After  this  was  done,  there  were  also  two  persons  present, 
a  man  and  a  woman  who  for  transgression  had  previously 
been  put  back  and  separated  from  the  church,  and  were  now 
desirous  to  be  received  into  the  church  as  members.  Bishop 
Eby  received  the  man  first,  and  with  mild  words  (or  a  light 
confession).  No  doubt  this  man  had  committed  only  a  minor 
transgression  ;  the  words,  however,  I  do  not  remember  ;  but 
when  he  si)oke  to  the  woman,  his  words  so  fixed  themselves 
on  my  mind  that  I  still  recollect  some  of  them  very  distinctly. 
After  many  years  I  told  my  father  how  Bishop  Eby's  words, 
in  receiving  that  woman  back  into  church,  had  fixed  them- 
selves on  my  mind.  "  Yes,"  said  he,  "  I  mind  well  that  it 
made  me  inquire  for  what  reason  this  woman  had  been 
expelled,  and  when  I  heard  the  cause,  I  no  longer  wondered 
why  he  demanded  so  strong  a  confession." 


AND    HER    ACCUSERS.  113 


"In  these  two  cases  we  see  that  the  lighter  transgression 
was  as  little  overlooked  as  the  greater  one.  Our  Friend,  Daniel 
Musser,  in  writing  of  transgressions  in  the  old  church,  says, 
that  -they  had  to  be  very  flagrant  if  any  notice  was  taken  of 
them.'  It  may  not  be  amiss  in  this  place  to  quote  the  words 
referred  to  above,  as  they  are  still  distinct  in  ray  mind.  As 
they  were  spoken  in  the  German  language,  I  will  quote  them 
as  they  were  spoken,  '  Zam  Ersten  frage  ich  clich,  oh  du 
es  erkennest  unci  freimuethig  bekennen  kannst^  dasz  du 
mit  Recht,  um  der  Ungerechtigkeit,  Suende  und  Ueber- 
tretung  Willen,  seiest  neben  die  Gemeinde,  zur  Busze 
gestelU  wordenf  These  words  translated  into  the  English 
read  as  follows,  'In  the  first  place  I  ask  you  whether  you 
acknowledge  it,  and  whether  you  can  freely  confess  that  you 
were,  justly,  on  account  of  iniquity,  sin  and  transgression, 
expelled  from  the  church,  unto  repentance,'  &c.  These  words 
do  not  seera  to  indicate  any  disposition  on  the  part  of  the 
bishop  to  pass  over  the  matter  lightly. 

"Several  yeai-s  later  another  instance  took  place  in  the 
same  district,  to  which  I  also  desire  to  call  attention.  One  of 
the  ministers  became  entangled  in  a  law-suit.  The  church  was 
not  willing  to  bear  this,  and  complaint  was  brought  against 
the  minister.  Bishop  Eby  was  called  to  investigate  the  case, 
and  finally,  with  the  consent  and  counsel  of  the  church, 
silenced  the  minister.*  Not  being  satisfied  with  the  action  of 
the  church  and  the  bishop,  this  man  said,  in  rather  an  imperti- 
nent manner,  'Yes,  well  then,  hold  me  as  a  heathen  man  and  a 
publican,'  which  was  accordingly  done,  and  he  was  not  again 
called  to  the  ministry.  Musser  says,  that  it  toan  not  uncom- 
mon for  the  members  to  be  engaged  in  lawsuits  without 
reproof.  , 

"I  will  also  call  your  attention  to  Bishop  Jacob  Hostetter 
of  Lancaster  Co.,  who  was  chosen  to  the  ministry  and  proba- 

*  We  are  informed  from  the  evidence  of  one  of  our  old  bishops, 
who  knew  him  well,  that  Bishop  Ehy  not  only  silenced  this  minister^ 
but  also  at  the  same  time  suspen4ed  him  from  the  communion  of  tbfl 
church.  —  The  Author,  ' 

15 


114  THE    MBNJNONITE    CHURCH 


bly  also  ordained  to  the  office  of  bishop,  a  number  of  years 
before  the  so  called  New  Mennonite  Church  was  organized. 
He  instructed  and  baptized  both  me  and  my  wife  and  others  at 
the  same  time,  and  received  us  as  members  into  the  church. 
He  endeavored  to  impress  on  us  the  necessity  of  repentance  to 
God,  and  faith  in  Jesus  Christ  before  baptism,  and  often,  very 
often  had  I  heard  him  on  such  occasions,  and  this  was  always 
the  doctrine  he  endeavored  to  inculcate  into  his  hearers.  He 
tried  to  make  them  sensible  of  their  duties,  and  how  indis- 
pensable this  is  to  salvation.  He  also  was  at  tlie  head  of  the 
Lancaster  County  Conference  for  a  number  of  years.  It  was 
his  place  on  such  occasions  to  admonish  and  to  remind  his 
fellow-bishops,  ministers,  and  deacons,  of  the  great  responsi- 
bility resting  on  them  in  their  ministerial  duties,  I  was  often 
present  and  heard  him  on  these  occasions,  and  his  doctrine 
was  always  the  same  as  above  given.  He  always  cliarged 
those  assembled  in  Conference  to  be  true  and  faithful  in  their 
duties,  in  the  care  of  the  flock.  I  also  saw  and  heard  him 
ordain  deacons,  ministers,  and  bishops,  and  he  always  charged 
deacons  what  their  duty  is  when  strife,  discord,  or  disorderly 
conduct  manifests  itself  among  members.  That  when  it 
becomes  known  to  them  they  should  carefully  see  after  it, 
investigate  and  examine  the  same,  and  if  possible  have  a 
reconciliation  brought  about  ;  and  if  this  cannot  be  done, 
then  to  follow  the  regular  course  and  rule  laid  down  in  the 
gospel.  He  also  charged  ministers  with  their  duties,  and  the 
bishops  he  especially  charged  and  enjoined  upon  them,  as  a 
part  of  their  duty,  to  teach  their  hearers,  as  above  intimated, 
namely,  Repentance  to  God,  and  faith  in  Christ  Jesus,  and  to 
baptize  the  penitent  if  they  desire  it,  and  receive  them  as 
members  into  the  church,  and  also  with  them  observe  the  com- 
munion of  the  Lord's  Supper,  feetwashing,  &c.  He  also 
charged  them  to  watch  over  the  flock,  and  if  a  member  or 
members  walk  disorderly  and  are  not  willing  to  be  reconciled 
and  render  satisfaction  to  the  church,  to  separate  and  exclude 
such   disorderly   members.      These   things   I   have    jiot   from 


AND    HER   ACCUSERS.  115 


hearing  others  say  so,  but  I  'have  seen  and  heai-d  them  myself, 
and  some  of  them  often,  and  I  do  not  recollect  of  having  heard 
this  old  bishop,  speaking  to  his  hearers  of  these  weighty 
matters,  but  that  tears  could  be  seen  rolling  down  his  cheeks. 
How  then  can  it  be  possible  that  Daniel  Musser  dare  publish 
to  the  world,  a  book  censui-ing  and  accusing  the  Old  Menno- 
nite  Church  as  he  does,  and  calling  her  a  dead  body,  &c.? 
If  charity  or  the  love  of  Christ  prompted  him  in  that  work, 
then  I  have  not  yet  learned  that  charity  or  love. 

"I  also  knew  Bishop  Chi-istian  Herr  (Pequea).  He  lived 
almost  in  the  same  neighborhood  with  John  Hen-,  the  founder 
of  the  so  called  New  or  Refoi-med  jVIennonite  Church,  and  at 
the  same  time. 

"Christian  Herr  (Pequea),  was  ordained  to  the  office  of 
bishop  by  Bishop  Peter  Eby,  and  by  him  also  strictly  charged 
to  observe  the  rules  of  the  church  according  to  the  gospel,  as 
above  said,  and  to  separate  and  expel  from  the  church,  as  well 
as  to  receive  into  the  church,  and  to  spare  neither  layman, 
minister  or  bishop,  if  circumstances  required  it ;  and  I  know 
that  he  observed  and  carried  out  these  rules  and  ordinances  as 
long  as  health  and  strength  permitted  him  to  do  so. 

"All  the  above  instances  to  which  I  have  called  attention 
in  this  article,  except  the  second,  have  come  under  my  own 
personal  observation,  and  having  been  a  hearer  and  an  eye 
witness  to  them  I  can  testify  to  the  truth  of  them.  The 
second  case  relating  to  the  minister  who  became  entangled  in 
a  law-suit,  I  have  direct  from  the  member  who  first  brought 
•complaint  against  him,  and  he  was  followed  by  a  number  of 
his  fellow  members  ;  and  it  so  happened  that  this  brother  was 
afterwards  chosen  to  the  ministry,  to  fill  the  vacancy  occa- 
sioned by  the  excommunication  of  the  former  one.* 


*  From  this  coincidence  some  might  be  led  to  suspect  unfair 
means,  for  personal  ends  or  self-promotion,  but  as  ministers  in  the 
Mennonite  Church  are  chosen  by  lot,  this  cannot  be  the  case.  Should 
any  one  have  such  a  design,  it  would  avail  him  nothing,  as  the  decis- 
ion is  left  entirely  in  the  hands  of  God  to  cast  the  lot  as  may  best 
promote  the  glory  of  his  name. 


116  THE   MENNONITE    CHtJBCM 

"The  calling  of  Jacob  HostePter  to  the  ministry  and  also 
to  the  office  of  bishop,  occurred  before  my  recollection,  but  it 
i,s  about  forty  years  since  I  first  learned  to  know  him,  and 
during  this  time  I  know  him  to  have  adhered  to  the  rules  and 
principles  given  above.  I  recollect  another  instance  where  a 
neighbor  of  my  father's,  for  strife  and  contention  with  one  of 
his  neighbors,  on  account  of  a  line  fence,  was  excluded  from 
the  church.  This  was  done  prior  to  the  Spring  of  1822,  before 
my  recollection,  but  I  know  that  he  moved  out  of  the  immedi- 
ate neighborhood  in  the  Spring  of  1822,  and  that  he  was  put 
back  before  he  moved  away,  but  how  long  I  do  not  know.  I 
remember  well,  when  I  was  already  a  grown  up  young  man, 
that  my  father  reproved  him  for  standing  aloof  from  the 
church  and  exhorted  him  to  come  forward  and  be  reunited 
with  the  church.  From  good  and  reliable  tradition,  I  can 
name  another  instance  of  a  member  being  expelled  from  the 
church  for  indulging  too  freely  in  spirituous  liquors.  This 
instance  took  place  not  less  than  one  hundred  and  five  years 
ago  and  may  be  one  hundred  and  ten. 

"I  will  now  close  by  adding  that  my  father  was  a  bishop 
and  ray  grand-father  a  minister  ;  his  brother  and  step-brother 
were  both  bishops  ;  my  great-grand-father  on  the  grand-mother 
side,  was  also  a  bishop  and  one  of  his  sons  was  a  minister  and 
another,  a  deacon.  Often  did  bishops,  ministers  and  deacons 
meet  at  my  father's  house,  and  staid  with  us  over  night.  I 
have  been  acquainted  with  many  of  those  bishops,  ministers, 
and  deacons,  from  far  and  near,  from  my  earliest  recollections, 
even  from  my  childhood,  and  some  of  those  men  were  from 
seventy  to  eighty  years  old,  when  I  was  only  a  boy  from  ten 
to  fifteen.  From  my  earliest  recollections,  I  paid  strict  atten- 
tion to  their  conversation  and  far  was  their  talk  from  the  idle 
sport,  jesting  and  merriment  of  which  D.  Musser,  in  his  book 
accuses  them.  But  I  sometimes  heard  some  of  them  reprove 
members  for  light-minded  talk.  The  grace  of  God  be  with 
you."  John  Shenk. 

"P.  S.     I  have  not  given  this  line  of  the  bishops  and 


AND  HER  ACCUSERS.  1 1 V 


ministers  for  the  purpose  of  boasting,  but  to  show  how  I  had 
opportunities  to  become  acquainted  with  these  men,  their 
views,  principles,  practices  and  conversations,  even  from  my 
earliest  recollections." 

We  have  now  given  such  a  variety  of  evidences  and  testi- 
monies to  substantiate  our  position,  and  vindicate  the  charac- 
ter of  our  much  despised  church,  that  we  feel  it  should  be  suffi- 
cient to  convince  the  most  unbelieving.  Those  who  are  filled 
with  prejudice  and  envy  towards  us  would  not  be  convinced  in 
any  case,  while  the  unprejudiced  and  impartial  reader  will 
already  have  seen  how  unjust  and  uncharitable  these  wholesale 
denunciations  of  Daniel  Musser  are.  But  we  ask  not  for 
sympathy  ;  we  do  not  complain  that  the  voice  of  slander  has 
been  raised  against  us.  We  rather  rejoice  that  we  are  slan- 
dered and  evil  spoken  of,  for  the  Savior  says,  "Blessed  are  ye 
when  men  shall  revile  you,  and  shall  persecute  you,  and  shall 
say  all  manner  of  evil  against  you  falsely,  for  my  sake. 
Rejoice,  and  be  exceeding  glad  :  for  great  is  your  reward  in 
heaven."  All  that  we  ask  is  the  opportunity  to  refute  these 
accusations  and  vindicate  the  church  by  well  substantiated 
and  undoubted  evidence.  This  privilege  we  have,  and  this  we 
have  aimed  to  do. 

This  is  one  of  the  very  best  proofs  that  our  church  is  an 
acceptable  church  of  God.  The  ensign  of  God's  people  has 
always  been  their  faithful  endurance  under  suffering  ;  their 
meekness  and  forbearance,  their  sorrows  and  their  tears,  and 
of  this  our  church  has  always  had  her  full  measure  ;  and  we 
are  told  that  "  whom  God  loveth  he  chasteneth."  We  expect 
to  bear  the  cross  ;  we  expect  to  suffer  for  Jesus'  sake,  if  we 
svould  wear  the  crown  and  reign  with  him,  and  we  ought  to 
rejoice  with  the  apostle  of  old  that  we  are  accounted  worthy 
to  suffer  for  his  sake.  Therefore,  as  said  before,  we  are  not 
complaining,  and  not  asking  for  sympathy  in  this  that  we  are 
thus  ill-treated  ;  we  only  ask  the  privilege  to  show  to  our 
church  at  the  pi-esent  day  and  to  our  posterity,  that  of  the 


118  THE   MENNONITE    CHtmctt 

descendants  of  those  who  have  once  represented  the  pure  Old 
Mennonite  Church,  John  Herr  and  Daniel  Musser  with  their 
followers,  have  not  alone  remained,  but  that  the  Lord,  during 
all  these  times,  has  reserved  unto  himself  more  than  seven 
thousand  who  have  not  bowed  the  knee  to  Baal,  and,  that 
while  with  all  others,  we  have  a  great  deal  to  humble  us,  and 
nothing  to  boast  of,  we  feel,  that  in  the  fear  of  the  Lord,  and 
with  gratitude  toward  him  who  has  preserved  our  church 
through  all  the  centuries  past,  we  are  not  claiming  too  much 
when  we  say,  that  we  have  the  assurance  and  the  most  positive 
proof  that  the  Lord  has  been  with  us,  and  is  with  us  stilj.  We 
readily  admit,  as  said  before,  that  we  had  our  shoi't-coraing 
members  and  that  we  have  them  still,  but  wc  have  never  been 
forsaken,  and  are  not  forsaken  now.  The  name  of  the  Lord 
has  been  established  among  us,  and  has  continually  been  with 
us  to  the  present  time,  notwithstanding  the  assertions  of 
envious,  puffed  up  and  self-righteous  men  to  the  contrary,  and 
we  humbly  pray  and  trust  that  our  heavenly  Father  will 
bestow  upon  this  church,  his  grace  and  his  divine  blessing, 
that  the  church  may  be  blessed  and  prospered,  and  children, 
and  children's  children  may  reap  a  rich  harvest  of  grace  from 
the  seeds  of  piety  and  purity  sown  by  their  devoted  ancestors. 
We  could  have  condensed  some  of  the  preceding  letters 
more  than  we  have  done,  but  we  feel  sure  our  readers  will 
peruse  them  with  the  same  interest  that  we  have  done.  And 
we  believe  too,  that  a  perusal  of  them  will  give  better  satis- 
faction than  a  more  condensed  form  would  have  done. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

REMARKS,    EXTRACTS,  &C. 

The  following  remarks  imd  extracts  are  gathered  from 
private  letters  and  other  sources,  and  are  here  given  in  confir- 
mation of  the  facts  already  presented. 

"Two  of  the  most  eminent  bishops,  in  the  Mennonite 
Church  in  the  beginning  of  the  ninteenth  century,  were  Jacob 
Brubacher  and  Peter  Eby."  "  The  first  of  these,"  the  writer 
says,  "I  heard  preach  only  once  when  a  boy.  It  was  at  a 
funeral.  It  was  his  last  sermon  and  made  an  impression  on 
me  not  yet  forgotten  ;  he  was  esteemed  as  a  very  pious  and 
godly  man,  and  many  of  his  sayings  are  still  remembered." 
He  was  born  in  1751,  ordained  to  the  ministry  in  1780,  and 
not  many  years  after  he  was  ordained  to  the  ofiice  of  bishop. 
Of  his  preaching,  an  old  sister  now  78  years  old,  recently  said, 
"That  when  she  was  but  a  young  girl,  she  heard  him  preach  at 
her  grand-mother's  funeral,  and  that  the  sermon  made  such  an 
impression  on  her  mind  that  she  never  forgot  it."  Among 
other  things  said  on  that  occasion,  in  speaking  of  repentance, 
he  made  the  remark,  "Der  Mensch  musz  geleutert  werden  wie 
Silber  und  Gold."  Man  must  be  purged  or  refined  as  silver 
and  gold. 

The  same  writer  says  of  bishop  Eby,  "The  doctrines  of 
Peter  Eby  were  sound  Mennonite  doctrines,  based  on  true 
repentance  and  obedience.  He  was  often  at  our  house,  and 
often  did  I  sit  and  listen  to  him  and  others  conversing  of  spir- 
itual things.     I  often  heard  him  preach  and  can  heartily  bear 


120  THE    MBNNONITE    CHUBOH 


testimony  to  all  that  has  been  said  of  hira.  He  was  a  most 
remarkable  man." 

"With  Jacob  Hostetter  I  was  quite  familiarly  acquainted. 
He  was  a  very  zealous  man.  Methinks  I  can  yet  see  the  tears 
rolling  down  his  cheeks,  when  pleading  with  sinners  and 
encouraging  the  brethren.  O,  how  he  encouraged  me  to  be 
a  faithful  watchman  on  the  walls  of  Zion  after  I  was  ordained 
to  the  ministry.  May  I  never  forget  it.  He  died  in  1865,  at 
the  age  of  ninety-one  years.  It  is  said  that  he  was  ordained  to 
the  ministry  when  only  twenty-five  years  old.  After  the  death 
of  Peter  Eby,  he  was  at  the  head  of  the  Lancaster  County  Con- 
ference. Bro.  Benjamin  Herr,  who  was  a  fellow  bishop  with 
him  during  nine  years,  fully  substantiates  the  testimonies 
given  him." 

In  reference  to  the  character  of  Bishop  Peter  Eby,  we 
would  yet  add  the  following. 

Jacob  Stauffer  to  whom  we  have  previously  referred,  in 
his  German  work  speaks  well  of  him,  and  Alexander  Harris, 
in  his  Biographical  History  of  Lancaster  County,  also  gives 
the  following  most  excellent  account  of  him,  "This  member 
of  the  family  deserves  more  than  a  passing  notice.  His  fame 
as  a  preacher  was  widely  known,  and  served  to  fill  the  houses 
to  their  utmost  capacity  wherever  he  was  known  to  ofiiciate. 
The  ministers  in  the  Mennonite  Church  are  not  educated  for 
the  pulpit."  "The  bishops  have  also  certain  districts  allotted 
to  each,  and  the  privilege  of  presiding  among  them,  is  gener- 
ally accorded  to  the  senior  in  ofiice  or  the  most  eminent  in 
abilities.  This  position  Peter  held  for  many  years  up  to  the 
time  of  his  death  ;  and  his  authority  also  extended  over  the 
church  in  Canada,  until  he  was  succeeded  there  by  his  younger 
brother  Benjamin.  To  form  some  idea  of  his  powers  as  an 
orator,  it  is  necessary  to  state  that  the  principal  sermon  in  the 
Mennonite  Churches  was  always  prefaced  by  an  introductory 
discourse  from  one  of  the  younger  ministers  present ;  and 
that  on  communion  day,  the  subject  invariably  used  to  be 
Bible   History,  from   Adam   down,   bringing   out   prominent 


AND    HEK    ACCUSEES,  121 


events  and  prophecies  pointing  to  the  new  dispensation.  The 
introductory  discourse  generally  brought  it  down  to  the  time 
of  Noah  and  Isaac  when  it  would  be  taken  up  by  the  bishop 
and  continued  to  the  birth  of  Christ,  his  ministry  on  earth  and 
his  final  sufferings  and  death.  Old  as  the  story  had  become, 
the  audience  never  tired  listening  to  it  from  the  eloquent  lips 
of  Peter  When  he  slowly  arose,  all  noise  subsided  into  an 
almost  painful  expectation.  Then  he  would  break  the  silence 
with  a  kind  and  fatherly  greeting  to  his  hearers,  and  glide 
gently  into  the  course  marked  out  for  himself.  Proceeding 
step  by  step,  describing,  explaining,  illustrating  and  sustain- 
ing his  points  as  he  went  along,  with  copious  quotations  from 
the  Scriptures,  for  all  of  which  he  drew  upon  his  extraordi- 
nary memory  ;  he  would  gradually  warm  up  into  his  theme, 
and,  when  under  full  sway,  his  discourse  moved  along,  like  a 
deep,  clear  stream,  rolling  ocean-ward,  without  a  break  or 
ripple,  grand,  majestic,  and  irresistible.  His  powers,  however, 
were  brought  out  most  fully  when  he  came  to  portray  the  acts 
and  sufferings  of  his  Master  during  his  last  few  days  upon 
earth.  The  scene  in  Gethsemane ;  the  sleeping  disciples; 
the  noise  and  tumult  breaking  upon  the  stillness  of  the  night, 
when  the  armed  men  came  to  take  him  ;  the  doings  before 
the  Jewish  and  Roman  tribunals ;  the  embarrassment  of 
Pontius  Pilate,  and  his  fruitless  device  to  save  ;  the  message 
sent  him  by  his  wife ;  his  last  resorc,  when  he  gave  the  Jews 
to  choose  between  Jesus  and  Barabbas,  and  the  cries  of  the 
infuriated  multitude  that  pronounced  his  condemnation.  Then 
the  sorrowful  train  moving  up  Calvary  ;  the  preparation  to 
carry  the  fearful  sentence  into  execution  ;  and  lastly  the  finish- 
ing act  of  the  sublime  drama  ;  the  Savior  of  mankind  nailed 
between  heaven  and  earth,  his  side  pierced,  and  yet  with 
parched  lips  in  the  agonies  of  death,  crying  to  the  Father  to 
forgive  ;  the  darkening  of  the  heavens,  the  quaking  of  the 
earth  and  the  elements  bearing  witness,  in  thunders  and  light- 
ning, to  the  divinity  of  him  who  was  suffering.  All  this  he 
would  portray  in  a  manner  so  vivid,  that  the  speaker  would  be 
16 


122  THE    MENNONITB    CHUKCH 


forgotten  in  the  subject.  Then  as  his  voice,  suppressed  by 
emotion,  and  sinking  into  silence,  would  allow  the  attention 
of  the  hearers  to  return  to  the  speaker,  he  would  stand  before 
them,  tears  streaming  down  his  cheeks,  his  countenance  glow- 
ing, and  his  raised  hands  directing  the  penitent  sinner,  as  it 
were,  to  the  foot  of  the  visible  cross.  His  preaching  was 
altogether  extemporaneous,  and  its  effect  upon  an  audience, 
great.  And  yet  he  was  not  a  sensational  preacher ;  he  addressed 
the  judgment  as  well  as  the  feelings,  and  his  discourses 
abounded  in  arguments  and  reasonings  that  weie  listened  to 
with  admiration  by  the  most  polemical  or  logical.  So  much 
was  this  the  case,  that  it  frequently  happened,  that  strangers 
hearing  him  for  the  first  time,  although  otherwise  informed, 
would  not  be  convinced  that  he  was  not  a  person  regularly 
educated  and  trained  for  the  ministry. 

"An  acquaintance  of  his,  who  had  heard  some  of  the  most 
noted  orators  of  the  state  and  nation,  in  and  out  of  the  pulpit, 
gave  it  as  his  opinion,  that  for  none  of  them,  it  seemed,  had 
nature  done  so  much,  towards  making  the  "Orator,"  as  for 
this  grand,  old  sei-vant  of  the  church.  In  the  councils  over 
which  he  presided  as  bishop,  his  voice  was  equally  potent. 
His  clear  intellect  enabled  him  to  probe  difficulties  to  the 
bottom  ;  and  his  impartial  decisions,  pronounced  without  fear 
or  favor,  were  acknowledged  to  be  just,  and  rarely  appealed 
from.  He  died  April  the  6th,  1843,  in  the  seventy-eighth 
year  of   his  age." 

John  Holdeman,  in  his  writings,  after  quoting  the  above, 
says,  "This  brother  was  a  ministering  servant  in  the  church  for 
about  forty-three  years,  and,  according  to  the  above  and  other 
testimony,  was  an  impartial  man,  and  by  no  means  as  corrupt 
and  dead  as  D.  Musser,  John  Herr  and  others  would  have  us 
believe  ;  for  they  make  no  exceptions  of  any  one  (in  the 
church)  being  yet  a  living  member  of  Christ,  and  therefore, 
he  is  no  doubt  also  included  in  their  accusations  against  the 
ministers  and  the  church.  According  to  what  J.  Stauffer 
writes  of  this  brother  (Peter  Eby),  he  did  not  suffer  such  sins 


AiS-D    HER   ACCUSERS.  12-^ 

find  transgressions  in  the  church  as  John  Herr  and  his  asso- 
ciates charge  the  Old  Mennonites  to  have  tolerated."  "I  have 
the  testimony  of  Amos  Herr,  that  he  inquired  of  the  old 
bishops  of  different  localities,  whetlier  the  church  was  so 
corrupt  as  it  is  represented  by  the  Reformed  Mennonites,  and 
they  said  that  it  was  not.  I  am  personally  acquainted  with 
Bishop  Abraham  Rohrer.  He  experienced  a  change  of  heart 
and  preached  in  power.  He  is  now  about  eighty-six  years  of 
age,  and  was  personally  acquainted  with  the  Bishop,  Peter  Eby, 
above  referred  to,  and  also  gives  him  a  very  good  testimony. 
He  is  also  acquainted  with  the  Reformed  Mennonites  and 
claims  that  they  misrepresented  the  matter  concerning  the  Old 
Mennonites.  He  has  been  bishop  over  forty  years  and  was 
the  principal  man  in  the  Ohio  Conference  for  many  years,  and 
his  influence  reached  to  Canada  and  other  states.  He  did  not 
tolerate  such  ti'ansgressors  in  the  church  as  are  named  by  the 
Reformed  Mennonite  writers.  This  brother  was  about  twenty- 
two  or  twenty-three  years  old  when  the  Reformed  JMennonites 
organized  and  did  not  live  far  distant  from  them  at  the  time 
when  they  organized,  and  therefoi-e  should  know  something 
concerning  the  state  of  the  church  in  that  locality  in  1812 — 
the  date  of  the  new  organization." 

Samuel  W.  Pennypacker  of  Philadelphia,  to  whom  we 
.are  indebted  for  much  valuable  information  in  regard  to  the 
early  history  of  our  church,  in  this  country,  has,  in  his  library, 
a  copy  of  Godfried  Arnold's  Kirchen  and  Ketzer  Historie, 
which  Bishop  Henry  Hunsicker  of  Skippack,  (whose  name  has 
already  been  mentioned  in  a  former  chapter  of  this  work,  as 
the  author  of  a  letter  to  Christian  Herr,  in  1816),  together 
with  John  Kassel,  Benjamin  Johnson,  Isaac  Hunsicker,  George 
Clemens,  Isaac  Kassel,  Harman  Pannebecker,  Godschalck  God- 
schaclk,  Benjamin  Johnson  Jr.,  Gerhard  Clemens  and  Henry 
Pannebecker  imported,  jointly  from  Europe,  January  29th 
1785.  It  certainly  required  no  small  degree  of  interest  in  the 
church  and  her  history,  to  be  willing  to  meet  the  difficulties 
and  the  expense  of  importing  so  large  a  work  from  Europe, 


124  THE    ME"NISrONITE    CHUECH 

and  though  it  may  not  show  any  special  degree  of  piety  or 
purity  in  Christian  life,  it  certainly  does  not  indicate  that 
these  persons  were  such  light  minded,  cold,  indifferent  char- 
acters as  they  are  represented  to  have  been.  What  a  man 
reads  is  pretty  generally  a  good  criterion  of  his  life  and  char- 
acter, and  if  the  libraries  of  our  Mennonite  families,  in  those 
days  especially,  and  even  down  to  the  present  time,  may  be 
taken  as  evidence  in  the  matter,  or  as  an  exponent  of  the  inner 
life,  what  can  we  say  of  a  people,  or  what  conclusion  must  we 
arrive  at,  when  we  find  that  in  their  houses  they  had,  almost 
exclusively,  such  books  as  the  Bible,  the  New  Testament, 
Martyr's  Mirror,  the  writings  of  Menno  Simon,  Detrich  Philip 
and  Johann  Decknatel,  Denner's  Predigtbuch,  Arnold's  Erste 
Liebe,  Arnold's  Kirchen  and  Ketzer-Geschichte,  Huebner's 
Bible  Narratives,  Confession  of  Faith,  Lustgaeitlein,  Hymn- 
books  of  different  kinds,  and  others  of  a  similar  character  ? 
Even  in  the  schools  the  children  were  taught  their  first  lessons 
out  of  a  primer,  a  large  portion  of  the  contents  of  which  were 
selections  from  the  New  Testament,  after  which  they  were 
advanced  to  the  New  Testament  and  the  Psalter,  or  book  of 
Psalms.  These  were  the  text  books  in  their  schools  ;  and  a 
people  who  are  educated  from  books  of  this  class,  and  who . 
exert  themselves  to  secure  this  class  of  literature,  as  we  have 
seen  in  the  former  parts  of  this  work  that  our  Mennonite 
people  have  done,  are  not  likely  to  become  what  our  accusers 
try  so  hard  to  make  them. 

Samuel  W.  Pennypacker,  in  a  letter  written  December 
11th  1877,  says,  "Direct  evidence  as  to  the  spiritual  condition 
of  the  church  in  past  years  is  not  easily  obtained,  because 
when  people  are  virtuous,  they  are  not  apt,  if  modest,  to 
declare  their  merits,  either  in  writing  or  print.  The  tenet  of 
non-resistance  was  strenuously  maintained  by  the  Mennonites 
during  the  revolutionary  war,  and  some  of  them  were,  in  con- 
sequence, imprisoned.  Christian  Funk,  for  a  slight  deviation 
in  this  respect,  was  put  under  the  ban.  One  of  the  best  indi- 
cations of  what  people  have  in  their  minds  and  hearts,  is  what 


Airt)    HBft   ACCUSBES.  l26 


they  read.  The  'Martyr's  Book'  was  translated  into  the 
German  language  and  has  passed  through  four  editions.  The 
'  Handbuechlein'  of  '  Dirck  Philips,'  was  also  translated 
from  the  Dutch  and  three  editions  have  been  exhausted.  The 
'Wandelnde  Seele'  has  been  translated  into  both  German 
and  English  and  the  editions  are  numerous.  The  extensive 
publishing-houses  of  Billmeyer  at  Germantown,  Ehrenfried 
and  Baer  at  Lancaster,  all  of  whom  were  to  a  very  large 
degree  sustained  by  the  Mennonites,  and  whose  publications 
were  almost  exclusively  religious,  prove  that  the  tastes  of  the 
church  did  not  run  toward  frivolit3\ 

"My  own  great-grand-father,  Matthias  Pannebecker,  who 
was  born  in  1742  and  died  in  1808,  was  a  bisliop  and  the 
founder  of  the  church  at  Charlestown,  near  Phoenixville, 
Chester  County,  Pa.  He  was  a  miller,  and  so  strict  in  his 
conduct  that  when  loaning  money  to  struggling  friends, 
as  he  often  did,  he  refused  to  take  note,  bond  or  mortgage. 
He  would  not  permit  a  door  in  his  house  to  have  lock  or  key. 
He  was  the  first  person  in  that  part  of  the  country  to  discoun- 
tenance the  use  of  liquors  in  the  harvest-field,  which  was  then 
the  universal  custom.  That  his  course  of  life  accorded  with 
the  sentiments  of  his  fellow  Mennonites,  is  shown  by  the  fact 
that  when  he  died,  his  funeral  was  attended  by  people  from 
five  counties,  who  drove  that  distance  to  show  their  regard  for 
him.  In  fact  all  the  writers,  both  in  Europe  and  America  who 
have  said  anything  about  the  Mennonites,  have,  so  far  as  I 
know,  given  uniform  testimony  as  to  their  simplicity,  honesty, 
industry  and  rectitude." 

Many  instances  of  a  similar  character  might  be  given 
which  in  themselves  might  appear  trifling,  yet  nevertheless 
give  us  a  true  index  of  the  heart  and  spirit  by  which  our 
old  people  were  actuated.  Saturday,  in  the  true  scriptural 
sense  of  the  word,  was  ^preparation  day. — A  day  of  general 
cleaning  up  and  getting  ready  for  Sunday,  so  that  no  unnec- 
essary work  would  have  to  be  done  on  the  Sabbath.  On  Sun- 
day morning,  after  the  breakfast  things  were  away,  the  floors 


l26  THK    MENNONITE    CHURCH 

were  carefully  swept  and  wiped  and  the  house  put  in  order  for 
the  day.  If  it  was  meeting-day  *  the  family  would  be  ready 
at  an  early  hour  to  attend  their  accustorned  place  of  worship. 
If  it  was  an  intervening  Sunday,  or  from  any  cause  the  family 
was  detained  from  attending  public  worship  and  no  company 
was  present,  books  were  taken  and  the  time  spent  in  reading 
and  meditation.  The  Bible,  Testament,  hymn-book,  a  book 
of  sermons,  or  some  other  edifying  book  was  taken  and 
the  time  profitably  employed  in  reading  them.  The  chil- 
dren were  instructed  in  the  same  manner  and  earnestly 
admonished  to  walk  in  the  pious  ways  of  their  parents,  and 
thus  both  by  precept  and  example  the  children  were  taught  to 
respect  the  Sabbath  and  honor  God  On  a  certain  Sabbath 
morning,  perhaps  sixty  years  ago,  an  aged  gi-and-mother  was 
sitting  in  her  chair,  in  the  room  where  the  girls  had  just  been 
sweeping  and  wiping  up  the  floor.  When  they  had  done,  she 
said,  "Ah,  if  only  our  hearts  too,  were  cleansed  like  this 
flooi'."  "I  often  had  to  think  of  this  incident,'  said  my 
mother,  as  she  related  it,  many  years  afterwards.  My  own 
grand-mother,  who  died  in  1852,  at  the  age  of  eighty  years,  was 
nearly  blind,  and  on  account  of  her  infirmities  could  no  longer 
attend  public  services,  always,  when  circumstances  admitted  it, 
insisted  on  having  a  sermon,  or  at  least  a  part  of  a  sermon, 
from  Denner,  read  to  her  on  Sunday  forenoon. 

Of  this  character  we  could  gather  up  a  great  many  inci- 
dents and  testimonies  as  evidences  of  the  inner  life  of  men 
and  women  in  the  church  in  former  days,  which  show  a  very 
different  state  of  things  from  that  which  our  accusers  claim. 
It  is  very  true  that  such  a  condition  of  things  may  not  have 
existed  in  every  Mennonite  family,  because  there  were  always 
those  who  were  not  as  faithful  as  they  should  have  been, 
but  this  spirit  of  piety  and  Christian  devotion  was  the  rule 
and  not  the  exception,  and  its  influence  was  observed  and 
felt  wherever  one  mingled  in  their  society,  and  we  would  here 

*  In  many  places  it  was  the  custom  and  is  still,  to  hold  meet- 
ings only  every  two  weeks  at  each  meeting-house. 


AND    HBE   ACCUSERS.  127 

repeat  what  we  have  said  in  a  preceding  chapter,  that  we  have 
no  right  to  condemn  a  whole  church,  because  some  of  the 
members  do  not  live  as  upright  a  life  as  they  ought. 

An  aged  mother,  a  widow,  said  to  me,  "Oui-  oldest  son, 
when  a  boy,  fell  into  a  bad  habit  which  caused  us  a  great  deal 
of  sorrow,  and  my  husband  and  I,  used  every  means  in  our 
power  to  break  him  of  it,  but  all  to  no  purpose  ;  he  continued 
in  the  habit.  At  last  we  counseled  together  and  determined 
to  lay  the  matter  befoi-e  the  Lord  and  make  it  the  burden  of 
our  daily  prayers.  This  we  did  for  a  time,  and  in  a  little 
while  the  answer  came,  and  to  our  great  joy  the  boy,  of  his 
own  accord,  left  the  evil  habit  and  we  had  no  further  trouble." 

A  minister  who.  was  born  before  the  close  of  the  eigh- 
teenth century,  and  who  died  some  years  ago  at  a  very 
advanced  age,  on  two  occasions,  not  very  far  apart,  had  his 
spring-house  entered  on  Saturday  night  and  the  entire  week's 
supply  of  bread,  &c.  stolen.  The  matter  was  passed  by  with- 
out any  effort  to  discover  the  thief  or  bring  him  to  justice, 
though  strong  suspicion  rested  on  a  neighbor  who  had  a  con- 
siderable family,  and  was  very  poor  and  shiftless.  This  poor 
neighbor  some  time  after  took  very  sick  and  lingered  a  long 
tirue,  and  his  family,  as  a  matter  of  course  came  to  want. 
Our  old  brother  promptly  provided  for  their  necessities,  and 
like  the  good  Samaritan  offered  to  do  more  if  it  was  needed. 

Another  minister  we  could  mention,  who  had  valuable 
property  stolen,  and  believed  he  knew  well  where  it  was,  but 
made  no  effort  to  recover  it.  He  thought  it  better  to  folloM- 
the  scriptural  injunction  "not  to  ask  it  again."  The  same 
brother  had  other  valuable  property  taken  from  him  to  a  con- 
siderable amount,  which  he  could  readily  have  held  by  law, 
but  rather  than  go  into  litigation,  he  gave  it  all,  believing  it 
to  be  "more  blessed  to  give,  than  to  receive,"  or  to  suffer  the 
spoiling  of  one's  goods,  than  to  seek  justice  at  the  hands  of 
the  law.  So  careful  was  he,  indeed,  in  regard  to  this  mattei-, 
that  he  prohibited  his  heirs,  even,  from  making  any  effort  to 
recover  it  after  his- death.     It  requires   a  good  deal  of   true, 


1^28  THB   aiBNifONITB    CHURCH 

religious  principle  and  love  to  Jesus,  to  be  able  to  bring 
into  actual  practice  the  true  spirit  of  endurance  and  non-resist- 
ance as  exhibited  in  the  life  of  the  Savior  and  in  the  life  of 
many  of  his  followers,  and  we  could  hardly  believe  that  the 
light-minded,  unconverted  men  of  friend  Musser's  ideal,  dead 
church,  would  be  able  to  present  to  their  descendants,  exam- 
ples of  meek  endurance  like  these. 

Henry  Funk  made  a  provision  in  his  will  that  no  debts 
of  his  estate  should  be  collected  by  law,  and  all  the  provisions 
set  forth  therein  show  the  inoffensive  spirit  of  Christian  piety 
and  devotion  to  the  teachings  of  Christ. 

During  the  difficulties  which  occurred  in  the  church,  in 
eastern  Pennsylvania,  in  1847 — 48  on  account  of  the  disobe- 
dience and  innovations  of  John  H.  Oberholtzer,  in  Bucks 
County,  and  the  Hunsicker  faction  in  Skippack,  Montgomery 
County,  there  still  remained,  in  the  Old  Church,  so  much  love 
to  God  and  the  teachings  of  the  Savior  as  to  enable  them,  by 
the  grace  of  God,  to  fulfill  the  teachings  of  Christ  in  a  most 
noble  manner,  and  leave  to  the  world  one  of  the  most  glorious 
examples  of  self-denial  and  devotion  to  their  religious  princi- 
ples, presented  to  us  in  modern  times.  The  new  factions 
claimed  the  old  meeting-house  and  were  determined  to  have 
it  at  all  events.  The  property  was  one  of  considerable  value 
and  justly  belonged  to  the  Old  Church,  and  any  impartial 
judge  or  Jury  would  have,  without  any  scruples,  freely 
accorded  it  to  them,  had  they  presented  their  claims,  but 
instead  of  doing  so,  they  chose  rather  to  obey  the  scriptural 
injunctions  "not  to  resist  evil,  and  of  him  that  taketh  away 
thy  goods,  not  to  ask  them  again,"  and  quietly,  leaving  the  new- 
factions  in  possession,  they  purchased  other  grounds  and-  built 
themselves  a  new  house. 

There  are  other  men  also  who  could  give  similar  testi- 
mony, and  other  incidents  to  illustrate  our  point.  We  could 
gather  up  many  of  such  a  character,  to  show  the  piety,  the 
steadfastness,  the  self-denial,  the  patience,  meekness,  forbear- 
ance, benevolence,  charity  and  prayerful  watchfulness  of  the 


AND    HER   ACCUSERS.  129 

faithful  men  who  during  the  past  century,  have  lived,  and 
labored,  and  died  in  the  triumphs  of  a  living  faith,  in  the  Old 
Mennonite  Church  ;  but  we  have  already  said  enough.  We 
have  shown  that  the  accusations  so  boldly  made  by  Musser 
and  Herr  are  to  a  large  degree  only  the  result  of  envy,  preju- 
dice and  selfrighteousness,  and  that  they  are  almost  altogether 
incorrect  and  untrue.  They  made  false  and  unwarranted  asser- 
tions ;  and  even  contradict  themselves.  The  assertion  that  a 
certain  minister  in  the  Old  Church  voted  twice  at  the  same 
election,  has  been  proven  entirely  without  foundation,  from  the 
fact  that  no  person  can  be  found,  even  among  his  most  inti- 
mate friends  and  acquaintances,  who  ever  saw,  or  heard  of 
him  being  at  the  polls,  after  he  was  chosen  to  the  ministry. 
The  same  minister  has  been  charged  with  intoxication,  and 
this  charge  also  has  been  satisfactorily  refuted  by  a  number  of 
reliable  witnesses.  It  was  the  common  custom  of  all,  in  those 
days  to  use  liquors,  but  drunkenness  could  as  little  be  borne 
with  then,  as  now  ;  and  as  we  have  seen  that  members  were 
expelled  for  this  crime,  it  is  not  likely  that  this  minister  could 
have  been  given  to  such  a  bad  habit  without  reproof.  A 
number  of  persons  testify  that  he  was  a  perfectly  sober  man, 
and  that  he  did  not  attend  elections  after  he  was  called  to 
the   ministry.* 

Mark  now  an  example  of  inconsistency.  John  Herr  says 
the  church  was  without  discipline.  Musser  vouches  for  the 
truth  of  it.  The  writings  of  Abraham  Landis,  quoted  by  D. 
Musser,  were  composed  in  the  same  period  of  time  that  John 
Herr  wrote.  Landis  refers  to  two  instances  of  excommunica- 
tions of  members  from  the  church,  by  a  certain  bishop. 
Landis  was  one  of  the  first  ministers  of  the  Reformed  Menno- 
nite Church,  and  the  especial  friend  and  fellow-laborer  of 
John  Herr.    Now,  how  can  John  Herr  say  that  the  church  was 


*  Musser,  in  his  book,  gives  no  clue  as  to  whom  he  had  reference, 
in  speaking  of  this  minister.  He  however  told  two  of  our  minis- 
ters, who  visited  him  shortly  before  his  death,  who  this  minister  was. 
Hence  the  above  remarks. 

17 


130  THE    MENNONITK    CHTJECH 


void  of  discipline,  and  Musser  corafirm  it,  while  Landis 
declares  that  at  least  two  excommunications  of  which  he  has 
knowledge,  had  taken  place  within  a  short  time?  We  should 
have  thought  Musser  would  have  guarded  himself  against  such 
a  contradiction. 

It  will  be  perceived  that  in  our  testimonies,  we  have 
chiefly  given  such  as  relate  to  the  life  and  conduct  of  the 
ministry.  The  reason  of  this  is,  because  the  lives  and  actions 
of  the  leaders  of  any  association  of  persons,  are  more  dis- 
tinctly marked  and  observed  ;  and  as  Daniel  Musser  himself 
asserts,  that  the  character  of  a  church  depends  in  a  large 
measure  on  the  chai-acter  of  the  ministry,  we  may  very  safely 
determine  that  whex-e  there  is  a  living,  faithful,  devoted,  god- 
fearing ministry,  a  church  of  like  character  will  be  found.  If 
the  church  was  as  Daniel  Musser  repi-esents  it,  then  her  minis- 
try must  have  been  the  same.  But  we  have  abundant  testi- 
mony that  the  ministers  of  that  day  were  more  devoted  and 
more  strict  and  zealous  than  many  at  the  present  day. 

In  regard  to  excommunication,  sufiicient  evidence  has 
been  given,  to  show  that  the  bishops  and  ministers  of  that  day 
tried  as  much  as  was  in  their  power,  to  preserve  the  church 
pure,  and  that  the  church  was  not  without  discipline.  The 
testimonies  we  have  given  show  positively,  that  excommunica- 
tions did  take  place,  and  that  the  ministers  and  bishops  of 
that  day  did  guard  with  zealous  care  and  watchfulness,  both 
the  doctrines  and  the  morals  of  the  church.  That  they  had 
their  trials  and  their  difficulties  as  well  as  we  in  our  day,  and  as 
all  other  churches  had,  no  one  will  deny  ;  and  that  there  were 
weak  members,  that  there  were  unfaithful  men,  both  in  the 
ministry  and  among  the  members,  we  freely  admit ;  but  this 
would  not  make  a  dead  church,  neither  would  it  form  a  cause 
to  reject  the  church.  "To  err,  is  human  ;  to  forgive,  divine," 
"and  charity  covereth  the  multitude  of  sins." 

In  the  conclusion  of  this  part  of  our  subject,  we  desire  to 
notice,  that  in  all  the  testimonies  here  presented,  not  one 
agrees  with  that  of  Herr  and  Musser,  and  Musser  says  that 


AND   HUB  ACCTJSEES.  131 


the  older  members  know  that  what  he  writes  is  true.  A 
brother  minister  made  special  inquiry  of  the  older^members, 
wherever  opportunity  presented  itself,  and  the  unanimous  tes- 
timony of  all  who  were  asked,  was,  that  they  knew  nothing  of 
such  a  condition  of  things.  Indeed  they  had  so  much  charity, 
that  if  the  evidence  could  not  have  been  shown,  they  would 
not  have  believed  that  it  were  possible,  that  such  accusations 
could  have  been  brought  against  the  church  by  any  one. 


CHAPTER  X. 

DOCTBIJSTES     OF     DANIEL     MUSSER — THE     FORGIVENESS 
OF     SINS. 

We  wish  to  notice,  now,  several  questions  which  are  pre- 
sented to  us,  by  D.  IMusser,  in  his  book,  as  points  of  doctrine  ; 
and  for  the  purpose  of  showing  our  readers  what  he  teaches, 
from  his  own  words,  we  will  here  give  a  number  of  quota- 
tions. On  page  13  of  his  book  we  find  the  following  in 
regard  to  the  church  of  God  in  Eden.  "There  is  nothing  said 
in  the  word  that  there  was  a  church  existing  in  the  garden  of 
Eden  ;  but  as  the  relation  which  existed  between  man  the 
creature,  and  God  the  Creator,  is  the  same  as  that  which  is  said 
to  exist  between  God  and  the  church,  it  would  seem  to  favor 
or  countenance  the  idea,  that  man's  fellowship  with  and  access 
to  God,  his  purity  and  holiness,  constituted  a  relation  which 
might  be  called  a  chui'ch." 

After  speaking  of  the  fall  of  man  and  setting  forth  his 
utter  ruin,  he  continues  on  page  14,  "Nevertheless,  man  had 
not  fallen  beyond  the  power  of  God  to  redeem  or  restore  him, 
and  there  is  abundant  evidence  that  God  had  not  utterly  cast 
him  away.  So  soon  as  man  fell,  God  gave  him  the  promise  of 
a  Redeemer,  and  those  who  believed  this  promise  and  trusted 
in  that  Redeemer,  he  had  also  promised  to  bless  and  protect ; 
and  so  far  God  had  pleasure  in  them,  as  believing  him  and 
depending  on  the  promised  Redeemer.  But  no  outward  deed 
or  action  of  theirs  gave  God  pleasure,  if  not  accompanied  with 
faith.  It  is  said  of  those  things  which  God  had  commanded 
Israel  to  do,  that  he  had  no  pleasure  in  them.     But  the  faith 


AND    HEB   ACCtJSEBS.  l33 


which  moved  them  to  obedience,  was  what  pleased  God  and 
moved  Hira  to  give  witness  of  approval  to  that  which  they 
had  done.  God  imputed  their  faith  unto  them  for  rlgJit- 
eousnessP 

"Scriptm-e  testimony  shows  that  the  nimiber  of  those  who 
thus  believed  and  trusted  in  God's  promise,  were  few  in  com- 
parison to  the  number  of  people  which  existed  on  eartli. 
These,  whether  few  or  many,  iioere  under  the  promise  and 
constituted  the  people  of  God.  They  had  an  interest  in 
the  Redeemer,  but  themselves  were  under  bondage  till  the 
time  of  his  coming.,  and  working  out  this  redemption,  when 
their  debt  would  be  paid  and  they  delivered  from  their  cap- 
tivity. With  all  such  believers  God  made  a  covenant,  and 
being  under  that  covenant,  they  were  under  God's  favor  and 
blessing.2' 

On  page  15  he  says,  "  Under  the  old  covenant  God  calls 
the  believers  his  people  ;  but  under  the  new  covenant  he  calls 
the  believers  sons,  daughters  and  children.  Under  the  old 
covenant  in  all  his  dealings  with  his  people,  he  never  once 
speaks  of  a  church.  The  word  is  never  once  used  in  the  Old 
Testament."  Again  on  page  16,  he  makes  this  remark,  "It 
is  evident  then  that  we  become  children  of  God  by  a  spiritual 
birth,  but  we  surely  cannot  be  born  of  the  Spirit  without 
becoming  partakers  of  or  possessing  the  Spirit.  All  men  must 
certainly  have  been  in  their  sins,  till  Christ  came  and 
satisfied  the  justice  of  God,  by  dying  on  the  cross  for  the 
sins  of  man.  Inasmuch  as  they  were  in  their  sins,  they  could 
not  receive  the  Holy  Spirit,  because  he  would  not  dwell  in  a 
defiled  temple.  We  do  not  read  of  any  one  receiving  the 
Holy  Ghost  from  the  time  of  the  fall  of  man  till  after  Christ 
had  ascended  into  heaven,  and  sent  the  Comforter  with  great 
power  on  the  day  of  Pentecost." 

On  page  17,  he  makes  the  most  remarkable  expression,  that 
"John  the  Baptist  and  those  spoken  of  (Elisabeth,  Zacharias, 
Simeon,  &c.),  were  yet  in  their  sins  because  the  blood  of 
Christ  was  not  yet  shed  ;    and  without  the  shedding  of  blood 


134  THE  MENNONITB    CHURCH 


there  is  no  remission  [of  sins.]  True,  they  had  an  interest  in 
Christ  by  faith,  but  did  not  realize  it  until  Christ  died."  And 
again,  "  Obedience  to  the  law  could  not  give  any  one  the 
Spirit,  and  from  the  testimonies  cited,  it  is  evident  that  the  old 
covenant  believer,  could  not  possess  the  Holy  Spirit ;  and  if 
not,  then  he  could  not  be  born  of  him,  and  could  consequently 
not  be  a  child  of  God.  To  he  a  child  of  God  we  must  be 
born  of  the  Sx)irit.  It  is  further  to  be  observed  that  God 
called  Abraham  and  blessed  him,  and  gav^e  great  promises  to 
him  and  his  seed.  God  renewed  these  promises  to  Israel  after- 
ward, and  especially  by  Moses.  He  said  he  would  be  with 
them,  dwell  with  them,  be  amongst  them  ;  he  would  be  their 
God  and  they  should  be  his  people:  but  in  all  his  promises 
and  sayings,  he  does  not  once  say  to  them  as  he  does  to  the 
New  Testament  believer,  that  they  shall  be  his  sons  and 
daughters.  We  never  read  anything  of  their  being  born  of 
him,  or  of  his  dwelling  or  being  in  them,  and  they  in  him. 
Neither  do  we  ever  read  of  God  and  them  having  communion 
or  fellowship,  nor  even  they  having  fellowship  one  with 
another.  God  had,  as  I  have  said,  given  promise  of  the 
woman's  seed,  and  to  Abraham  the  seed  in  which  all  the  fami- 
lies of  the  earth  should  be  blessed.  They  who  believed  this 
promise,  received  witness  that  they  were  righteous.  This 
was  all  they  could  do  for  the  time  then  being,  but  did  not 
give   them   the   Spirit   nor    make    them   children." 

On  page  19,  occur  these  declarations,  "From  the  time  of 
the  fall  of  man  till  Christ  died  on  the  cross,  all  mankind  were 
sinners  and  regarded  as  such  of  God"  "If  then,  they  wei-e 
in  their  sins,  they  could  not  draw  nigh  to  God,  or  have  fellow- 
ship with  him  ;  nor  could  God,  as  the  Holy  Ghost,  dwell  or 
abide  in  them,  in  this  defiled  state  or  condition."  "  All  man- 
kind in  this  time  were  under  the  covenant  of  the  law,  unbe- 
lievers as  well  as  believers,  but  there  was  this  difference  : 
The  believer  embraced  the  promise  of  the  Father  and  relied 
on  it,  and  dying  in  this  state,  although  dying  in  his  sins^ 
was  still  under  the  promise,  and  at  Christ's  coming  and  mak- 


AND  h:er  accusers.  ,  135 


ing  the  atonement  he  received  the  benefit  of  it,"  &c.  *  *  * 
"But  the  unbeliever  died  in  unbelief,  having  rejected  the 
promise,"  &c. 

Again  we  read  on  page  23,  "If  we  attentively  observe 
the  testimony  which  the  Scripture  gives  of  these  three  great 
classes  of  mankind  (viz,  The  believers  under  the  Old  Testa- 
ment, the  believers  under  the  New  Testament,  and  the  unbe- 
lievers under  both  Testaments),  we  cannot  fail  to  perceive  that 
unbelievers  under  either  covenant,  or  believers  under  the  old 
covenant,  could  not,  in  anywise,  answer  the  purpose,  or  serve 
as  material  of  which  to  build  such  a  structure  as  the  church  of 
God  is  declared  to  be ;  or  that  any  organization  of  such 
people  could  be  formed,  which  would,  in  any  way  answer  to 
that  glorious  body  which  Christ  gave  himself  for  and  pur- 
chased by  his  own  blood." 

Speaking  of  the  reason  why  God,  under  the  old  dispensa- 
tion did  not  form  a  church,  on  page  24,  he  presents  this  ques- 
tion, "  Why  did  God  not  build  up  a  church  under  the  old 
covenant?  Which  it  is  so  far  from  God's  doing,  that  he  does 
not  even  speak  of  it,  the  word  church  not  even  once  occurring 
in  the  Old  Testament.  The  reason  is  obvious  :  There  was  not 
material  out  of  which  it  could  be  done."  "All  mankind 
being  unregenerate  there  could  no  church  be  formed,  until 
Christ  came  and  by  his  death,  prepared  the  soul  of  man  for 
the  habitation  of  the  Holy  Spirit." 

Speaking  of  the  promise  of  God  to  -man  after  the  Fall, 
Friend  Musser  presents  this  idea,  "  By  believing  in  this  prom- 
ise, he  had  assurance  of  deliverance  from  his  fallen  state 
and  restoration  to  that  favor  with  God  which  he  had  lost  by 
transgression  and  sin.  This  promise,  however,  made  no 
change  of  the  relation  existing  between  God  and  man  ;  it 
took  not  that  from  man  which  forbade  his  approach  to  God  or 
gave  him  anything  of  the  nature  which  he  had  lost  by  trans- 
gression.    It  only  gave  assurance  that  this  would  be  done." 

After  giving  an  account  of  the  formation  of  the  first  apos- 
tolic or  Christian  Church,  he  says,  on  page  44,  "This  was  the 


136  THE    MBNNONITE    CHURCH 


first  association  of  man  that  ever  existed  on  earth,  as  a  true, 
living  churchy 

From  the  foregoing  extracts  we  gather  the  following  con- 
clusions, in  reference  to  the  doctrines  which  Musser  teaches : 

1.  That  between  the  fall  of  man  and  the  death  of  Christ 
on  the  cross  there  was  no  forgiveness  of  sins.  He  says  posi- 
tively that  all  who  died  previous  to  that  time,  died  in  their 
sins,  mentioning  John  the  Baptist  and  others. 

2.  That  there  were  no  children  of  God,  previous  to  this 
time,  because  there  were  none  regenerated,  and  could  not  be 
regenerated,  because  there  could  be  no  forgiveness  of  sins, 
and  no  means  through  which  to  bring  them  unto  a  union  with 
God,  and  into  the  relationship  of  children. 

3.  That  there  were  none  who  possessed  the  Holy  Spirit, 
or  the  Holy  Ghost,  or  the  Sjoirit  of  God,  because  the  Holy 
Ghost  was  not  yet  poured  out.  Consequently  none  could 
have  been  moved,  led  and  directed  by  that  Spirit  during  all 
this  period. 

4.  That  there  was  no  church  of  God,  or  that  God  had  no 
chui'ch,  previous  to  the  organization  of  the  first  Christian 
Church  on  the  first  Pentecost  after  the  resurrection  of  Christ. 
As  a  reason  why  God  did  not  establish  a  church  it  is  said  that 
there  was  no  proper  material  from  which  to  form  it,  which 
would  unavoidably  follow  if  the  first  three  of  the  foregoing 
conclusions  were  correct. 

An  examination  as  to  whether  these  conclusions,  or  any 
of  them,  are  true  and  will  stand  the  test  of  the  word  of  God, 
will  form  the  subject  of  this  chapter  and  the  succeeding  one. 
The  subjects  whi(;h  pi-esent  themselves  in  this  connection  are 
important,  and  we  feel  a  most  solemn  responsibility  resting 
upon  us  in  being  required  to  appear  before  the  public  in  a 
vindication  of  these  important  doctrines.  May  God  grant  us 
grace  to  do  it  with  an  eye  single  to  his  glory,  and  for  the 
benefit  of  bis  people. 

The  forgiveness  of  sins  is  one  of  the  most  important 
subjects  that  presents  itself  to  our  consideration  in  connection 


AND  HER  ACCITSERS. 


isl 


with  the  plan  of  salvation.  Without  the  forgiveness  of  sins, 
none  can  enter  the  kingdom  of  heaven.  Upon  this  doctrine 
are  based  all  our  hopes  of  salvation,  and  this  forgiveness  has 
reference  to  the  whole  human  family,  in  whatever  age  of  the 
world  they  may  have  lived,  whether  before  the  flood  or  after, 
whether  under  the  Mosaic  or  Gospel  dispensation.  But  the 
question  has  been  raised  whether  forgiveness  of  sins  was  or 
could  be  granted  by  Jehovah,  under  the  law,  or  Mosaic  dis- 
pensation, or  whether  it  could,  according  to  the  divine  econo- 
my, be  granted  only  under  the  Gospel  dispensation  which  was 
established  after  the  death  of  Christ.  Daniel  Musser  advanced 
the  idea,  and  labored  hard  to  prove  his  possition  coi-rect  and 
in  accordance  with  Scripture,  that  under  the  old  dispensation, 
that  is  from  the  fall  of  man  until  the  death  of  Christ,  there 
was  no  forgiveness  or  pardon  of  sins,  and  could  not  be  until 
after  Christ  died  and  satisfied  the  law.  It  is  our  present  pur- 
pose to  inquire  whether  this  view  can  be  maintained  by  God's 
word  or  not. 

Musser  holds,  that  those  who  believed  in  the  promises  of 
God  were  received  into  the  favor  of  God,  and  God  blessed 
them,  and  "imputed  their  faith  unto  them  for  righteousness." 
"  These  were  under  the  promise  and  constituted  the  peo- 
ple of  Gody  "They  had  an  interest  in  the  Redeemer,  but 
themselves  were  under  bondage  till  the  time  of  his  coming." 
"With  all  such  believers  God  made  a  covenant,  and  being 
under  that  covenant,  they  were  under  God's  favor  and  bless- 
ing." According  to  our  view  of  the  matter,  Musser  here 
plainly  contradicts  himself.  That  God  who  is  just,  a  right- 
eous and  a  holy  God,  who  is  of  purer  eyes  than  to  behold 
iniquity,  could  choose  a  nation  or  a  portion  of  the  human 
family,  upon  whom  was  still  resting  his  curse,  the  penalty  of 
the  broken  law,  his  divine  and  just  wrath,  which  held  them 
under  the  bondage  of  sin  ;  a  people  still  sitting  in  darkness 
and  the  shadow  of  death,  groaning  under  the  burden  of  iniq- 
uity and  transgression  unremoved  and  unforgiven,  a  people  in 
the  hearts  of  whom  his  Spirit  could  find  no  resting  place  and 
18 


138  THE    MBNNONITB    CHtJKCH 


who  were  altogether  unfit  to  form  a  church  of  God,  a  people 

who  must  live  and  die  in  their  sins,  as  his  "peculiar  people," 
bestow  upon  them  his  favors  and  blessings,  make  with  them  a 
most  solemn  covenant,  give  them  his  promises  and  "impute  to 
them  their  faith  for  righteousness,"  is  to  us,  we  must  freely 
confess,  an  incomprehensible  mystery.  That  God,  consist- 
ently, with  his  divine  attributes,  could  have  chosen  a  people, 
dead  in  trespasses  and  sins,  a  people  Avho  as  Musser  says, 
"  Must  certainly  have  been  in  their  sins  till  Christ  came,'''' 
and  bestowed  upon  them  his  special  favors  and  blessings,  and 
in  a  special  manner  revealed  himself  to  them,  made  known  to 
them  his  laws  and  promises,  watched  over  them,  gone  before 
them,  led  them,  protected  them,  been  with  and  dwelt  amongst 
them,  and  still  regarded  them  as  vile,  unforgiven  sinners,  is  a 
doctrine  that  is  not  only  in  itself  contradictory,  but  unfound- 
ed in  the  word  of  God. 

The  Bible  teaches  plainly  and  distinctly,  that  in  reference 
to  our  relations  with  God,  we  cannot  occupy  two  opposite  or 
contrary"  positions,  or  be  subjects  of  two  different  and  separate 
kingdoms  at  once.  We  cannot  enjoy  the  light  and  sit  in 
darkness,  or  serve  God  and  mammon,  or  be  saint  and  sinner  at 
the  same  time.  What  fellowship  hath  righteousness  with 
unrighteousness  ?  and  what  communion  hath  light  with  dark- 
ness ?  We  must  be  either  one  or  the  other.  We  must  belong 
either  to  the  people  of  God,  or  to  the  world.  God  has  desig- 
nated in  his  word  only  two  classes,  and  to  one  of  these  two 
classes,  the  whole  human  race  belongs.  Consequently,  those 
believers  who  lived  before  Christ,  have  been  either  God's 
people  or  God's  enemies.  Either  they  must  have  obtained  for- 
giveness of  their  sins,  or  they  must  have  remained  in  their  sins. 
If  they  remained  in  their  sins  and  received  not  forgiveness, 
then  they  cannot  have  been  God's  people  ;  God  never  could 
have  dwelt  among  them  ;  never  could  have  been  with  them  ; 
never  could  have  chosen  them  for  his  people  and  bestowed 
upon  them  the  blessings  which  he  did.  They  could  never 
have  received  the  benefits  of  God's  promises,  never  have  had 


AND    HER   ACCUSERS.  139 

an  interest  in  the  Redeemer,  and  consequently  they  could 
never  have  been  saved. 

But  if,  as  Musser  says,  they  enjoyed  the  favors  and  bless- 
ings of  God  ;  if  they  were  under  the  promise  and  constituted 
the  people  of  God  and  had  an  interest  in  the  Redeemer,  then 
their  sins  must  have  been  forgiven  them,  for  no  human  soul 
can  belong  to  God's  people,  while  his  sins  are  not  forgiven  ; 
no  person  can  have  an  interest  in  Christ  the  Redeemer  of  men, 
and  continue  in  his  sins.  Hence  Musser'p  conclusion,  that 
believers  under  the  Old  dispensation  remained  in  their  sins 
and  thus  lived  and  died,  while  at  the  same  time  the}'  enjoyed 
the  promise  and  possessed  the  faith  which  was  imputed  to 
them  for  righteousness,  is  not  only  entirely  contrary  to  human 
reason,  but  also  altogether  opposed  to  the  teachings  of  the 
word  of  God,  as  we  shall  yet  further  show. 

The  faith  of  believers,  in  the  promises  of  God,  under  the 
Old  Dispensation,  according  to  Musser's  own  statement,  was 
imputed  to  them  for  righteousness,  and  this  faith  in  the  prom- 
ise of  a  coming  Redeemer  was  just  as  effectual  and  just  as 
sufficient  for  their  justification,  as  our  faith  to-day,  in  a  Savior 
who  has  already  made  his  appearance  and  paid  the  price  of 
our  pardon  with  his  own  blood  upon  the  cross.  Justification 
is  the  result,  the  fruit  of  a  living  faith  and  true  and  sincere 
repentance,  and  if  any  one  under  the  law — the  Mosaic  dispen- 
sation, turned  to  God  with  a  sincere  heart,  repented  of  his  sins 
and  accepted  the  promise  of  a  coming  Redeemer,  and  walked 
in  accordance  with  the  laws,  the  precepts  and  commandments 
of  the  Lord,  that  pei-son  was  accepted  and  justified  in  the  sight 
of  God.  And  that  God  accepted  such,  blessed  them,  and 
delighted  himself  in  them,  the  Bible  gives  us  the  most  abund- 
ant proof,  as  will  be  seen  in  the  course  of  the  following 
remarks  and  testimonies. 

Abel  was  called,  "Righteous  Abel,"  and  the  apostle  testi- 
fies, "that  by  faith  Abel  offered  unto  God  a  more  excellent 
sacrifice  than  Cain,  by  which  he  obtained  witness  that  he  was 
righteous."  Heb.  11:4.     If  he  was  righteous,  he  cannot  have 


140  THE    MENNONITB    CHURCH 


been  in  his  sins,  for  a  sinful  man  cannot  be  a  righteous  man, 
and  righteousness  (because  we  have  no  righteousness  of  our 
own),  Cometh  through  justification.  It  is  the  gift  of  God 
through  Jesus  Christ.  Justification,  as  we  have  shown  before, 
is  the  consequence  or  the  fruit  of  the  forgiveness  of  our  sins ; 
and  the  forgiveness  of  our  sins  can  be  obtained  only  by 
repentance  and  a  new  life,  through  which  we  yield  ourselves 
up  to  the  full  obedience  of  the  will  of  God. 

But  our  friend  will  say,  there  was  no  repentance.  He 
claims  that  under  the  law  there  was  no  regeneration  and  no 
spiritual  birth,  and  for  this  reason  no  forgiveness,  conse- 
quently there  could  be  no  repentance,  and  if  repentance  could 
have  taken  place,  it  would .  have  been  altogether  useless, 
because  a  man  will  receive  no  benefit  from  repentance  unless 
he  can  obtain  the  blessings  which  repentance  is  intended  to 
confer. 

On  this  subject,  however,  let  us  look  a  little  further.  We 
»will  take  the  example  of  our  first  parents,  in  the  garden  of 
Eden.  After  they  had  sinned,  they  were  afraid.  The  con- 
sciousness of  their  sin  or  transgression  (for  sin  is  the  trans- 
gression of  God's  law),  filled  them  with  fear,  and  they  fled 
before  God  and  hid  themselves.  But  God  was  not  willing 
that  his  creatures,  created  in  his  own  image,  should  thus 
remain  under  the  dominion  of  sin,  death  and  the  devil,  and 
called  them,  just  as  every  sinner,  now,  is  called  to  repentance, 
"Adam,  where  art  thou?"  Not  that  he  did  not  know  where 
they  were,  but  to  humble  them,  and  to  bring  them  to  realize  their 
condition.  Are  you  now  like  unto  me  ?  Do  you  now  possess 
that  innocency,  that  sinlessness  in  which  you  were  created  ? 
No  ;  the  consciousness  of  guilt  was  upon  them,  and  with  fear 
and,  we  believe,  with  a  penitent  heart,  Adam  acknowledged  and 
confessed  his  transgression.  He  did  not  in  his  answer  to  God, 
as  some  say,  try  to  put  the  fault  on  Eve,  and  Eve  on  the  ser- 
pent ;  but  they  made  a  true  and  honest  confession,  stating  the 
facts  just  as  they  had  taken  place.  If  they  had  come  to  God 
with  a  lie  on  their  tongue,  as  Cain  did,  they  would  have  found 


AND    HEE   ACCUSERS.  141 

no  mercy.  But  by  honestly  confessing  their  sins  and  sin- 
cerely repenting  of  them,  God,  whose  chief  attribute  is  mercy, 
gave  them  the  promise  of  a  Redeemer,  a  Deliverer,  the 
woman's  seed,  "which  seed,"  Paul  says,  "is  Christ"  They 
believed  God's  promise,  and  thus  were  justified  by  faith  in  the 
Savior,  who  was  slain  from  the  foundation  of  the  world,  and 
thus  by  repenting  of  their  sins,  and  confessing  them,  and  faith 
in  Christ,  they  received  that  righteousness  which  is  by  faith, 
of  which  Paul  writes  in  the  eleventh  chapter  to  the  Hebrews. 
God  also  clothed  them  with  skins  which,  no  doubt,  were 
obtained  from  the  animals  slain  in  sacrifice,  and  this  is  the 
first  shedding  of  blood  of  which  we  have  any  account,  and 
"  without  the  shedding  of  blood  there  is  no  remission  of  sins." 
All  sacrifices  pointed  to  the  atoning  Lamb.  May  not  these 
garments  of  skins  have  been  a  figure  of  that  wedding  garment. 
Rev.  19  :  8,  purchased  by  the  atoning  blood  of  the  Lamb  of 
God,  which  taketh  away  the  sins  of  the  world,  and  which  was 
shed  on  the  cross  for  all  that  repent  and  believe,  from  Adam 
unto  the  end  of  time  ?  That  our  first  parents  did  repent  of 
their  sins  and  believe  in  the  promises  of  God,  is  most  conclu- 
sively shown  by  the  fact,  that  Eve,  when  Cain,  her  first  son  was 
born,  said,  "  I  have  gotten  a  man  from  the  Lord."  They  had 
accepted  the  promise,  and  were  already  looking  forward  to 
its  fulfillment,  and  their  hearts  were  filled  with  joy  in  the  hope 
that  this  might  already  be  the  promised  one,  though  he  was  so 
far  from  it  that  he  became  the  murderer  of  his  own  brother. 
Had  they  not  repented,  they  could  not  have  been  restored  to 
the  favor  of  God  ;  neither  could  they  have  received  nor  en- 
joyed the  promise. 

Concerning  the  spiritual  condition  of  Adam  and  Eve  we 
have  several  pointed  testimonies  from  ancient  writers  which 
we  will  here  quote.  Menno  Simon,  in  his  article  on  "  Justifi- 
cation "  (Menno's  Complete  Works,  Part  2,  Page  261),  says, 
"When  Adam  and  Eve  heard  these  glad  tidings  of  grace,  the 
gospel  of  peace  (that  is  the  promise  of  a  Savior),  from  the 
mouth  of  the  Lord,  they  joyfully  accepted  and  believed  it  as 


142  THE    MENNONITB    CHUBCH 


the  immutable  truth  of  God,  anxiously  cleaved  to  it  and  con- 
soled themselves  therewith  as  a  sure  foundation  of  salvation. 
And  thus  Adam  and  Eve  were  again  accepted  of  God,  through 
Christ  Jesus,  justified  and  delivered  from  the  eternal  death  and 
curse,  for  they,  according  to  the  promise  of  God,  believed  and 
trusted  in  him."  Dietrich  Philip  also  writes  on  page  339  as 
follows:  "This  is  the  first  proclamation  of  the  gospel  of 
Jesus  Christ,  the  only  Redeemer  and  Savior  of  the  world, 
through  whom  Adam  and  Eve  were  again  revived  ( Jn.  2  ; 
1  Tim.  2)  and  received  the  lost  image  of  God  ;  for  they  were 
created  anew  of  God,  and  born  anew  of  him,  because  they, 
by  true  faith,  and  the  power,  and  enlightening  of  the  Holy 
Spirit,  accepted  the  gracious  promise  of  the  gospel." 

According  to  the  Scriptures,  it  is  an  utter  impossibility  to 
attain  to  the  favor  of  God  without  forgiveness  of  sins,  and  it 
is  just  as  impossible  to  obtain  forgiveness  of  sins  without 
repentance,  and  the  Scriptures  acknowledge  and  require  repent- 
ance throughout.  The  Savior  says,  If  the  mighty  works  which 
had  been  done  in  Capernaum,  "had  been  done  in  Sodom,  it 
would  have  remained  unto  this  day."  Matt.  11  :  23,  and  if  the 
mighty  works  which  had  been  done  in  Chorazin  and  Beth- 
saida,  "had  been  done  in  Tyre  and  Sidon,  they  would  have 
repented  long  ago  in  sackcloth  and  ashes."  Matt.  11  :  21,  22. 
The  men  of  Nineveh  repented  at  the  preaching  of  Jonah,  and 
God  spared  them.  Solomon  in  his  prayer,  at  the  dedication  of 
the  temple,  1  Kings  8  :  47 — 50,  prays  to  God,  for  Israel,  that 
if  they  should  sin  ("and  there  is  no  man  that  sinneth  not," 
says  he),  and  afterwards  bethink  themselves  and  repent  and 
make  supplications  and  pray  unto  God,  (confessing  their  sins 
and  return  to  the  Lord  with  all  their  hearts,  "Then, '  says  he, 
"hear  thou  their  prayer  *  *  *  and  forgive  thy  people  that 
have  sinned  against  thee."  Job  also  declares,  "I  abhor  myself 
and  repent  in  dust  and  ashes."  Job  42  :  6.  The  Lord  com- 
mands the  prophet  Ezekiel  to  say  unto  Israel,  "Thus  saith  the 
Lord  God  :  Repent,  and  turn  yourselves  from  your  idols,"  &c. 
Ezek.  14  :  6.     The  prophet  Joel  also  declares,    'Therefore  also 


AND    HER   ACCUSERS.  143 


now,  saith  the  Lord,  Turn  ye  even  to  me  with  all  your 
heart,  and  with  fastina:  and  with  weeping  and  with  mourning  ; 
and  rend  your  hearts,  and  not  your  garments,  and  turn  unto 
the  Lord  your  God,  for  he  is  gracious  and  merciful,  slow  to 
anger,  and  of  great  kindness,  and  repenteth  him  of  the  evil. 
Who  knoweth  if  he  will  return,  and  repent,  and  leave  a  bless- 
ing behind  him  ?"  Joel  2  :  12  — 14.  Even  the  wicked  Ahab 
humbled  himself  before  the  Lord,  and  the  Lord  showed  so 
much  mercy,  that  the  evil  which  he  had  spoken  against  his 
house,  was  reserved  until  after  Ahab's  death.     1  Kings  21  :  29. 

From  the  foregoing  quotations,  and  references  we  see  that 
repentance  and  forgiveness  were  not  unknown  under  the  Old 
Dispensation.  Many  other  references  and  examples  might  be 
given  but  as  we  have  seen  that  repentance  was  taught,  required 
and  practiced  under  the  Old,  as  well  as  under  the  New  Dispen- 
sation, we  feel  that  what  we  have  given,  is  amply  sufficient 
for  our  present  purpose,  and  will  return  to  our  original  subject. 

Enoch  was  acceptable  to  God  and  was  translated,  that  he 
should  not  see  death.  God  took  him,  and  he  was  not ;  that  is, 
he  was  not  found  upon  the  earth,  for  God  took  him  to  himself, 
but  before  he  was  translated  he  had  this  testimony,  that  "he 
pleased  God."  Gen.  5  :  24  ;  Heb.  11  :  5.  Can  a  man  who 
lives  in  his  sins  please  God  ?  Or  can  a  man,  "  walk  with 
God,"  as  the  Bible  says,  Enoch  did,  and  live  in  his  sins  ? 
Could  God  consistently  take  a  man  in  his  sins,  without  for- 
giveness, without  justification,  without  sanctification,  to  him- 
self, or  into  the  abode  of  the  righteous  ?  Is  this  a  Scriptural 
doctrine?  Let  the  kind  reader  judge.  "Noah  was  a  just 
man,  and  perfect  in  his  generation,  and  Noah  walked  with 
God."  By  faith  he  "  condemned  the  world,  and  became  heir 
of  the  righteousness  which  is  by  faith."  Heb.  11:7.  Now, 
can  a  man,  impenitent,  unforgiven,  an  unjustified  sinner,  walk 
with  God,  condemn  the  world  and  be  a  preacher  of  righteous- 
ness ?  And  if  he  was  an  unjustified  and  an  unforgiven  sinner, 
could  he  have  obtained  that  saving  faith  by  which  he  was 
accounted  righteous  in  the  sight  of   God  ? 


144  THE   MESTNONITE    CHURCH 


The  calling  of  Abraham,  and  the  expeiiences  of  his  life, 
give  us  an  undeniable  testimony  that  the  faithful  old  patriarch, 
could  never  have  been  what  the  Scriptures  prove  him  to  be,  if 
he  had  not  been  an  accepted  and  justified  child  of  God.  In 
him  was  the  Scripture  fulfilled  which  saith,  "  Abraham 
believed  God  and  it  was  imputed  unto  him  for  righteousness, 
and  he  was  called  the  Friend  of  God.''''  Jas.  2  :  23;  Gal.  3  :  6. 

In  Moses  we  have  another  of  those  shining  characters, 
which  so  gloriously  illuminate  the  pages  of  sacred  history, 
and  who  will  dare  to  rise  up  and  say  that  he  was  not  changed 
in  mind  and  heart,  and  that  he  had  not  received  forgiveness, 
been  accepted  and  lived  in  full  favor  and  acceptance  with 
God  ?  We  observe  in  him  a  more  remarkable  and  decisive 
change  in  the  course  of  his  life,  than  is  manifested  in  any 
other  one  of  the  pious  patriarchs  of  that  age.  It  is  true, 
Abraham  was  obedient  to  the  divine  command,  and  left  the 
parental  home,  and  the  association  of  the  sinful  and  idolatrous 
world,  and  went  forth  not  knowing  whither  he  was  going,  and 
gives  us  a  most  beautiful  type  of  repentance  and  conversion, 
of  the  translation  of  man  from  the  kingdom  of  darkness,  into 
the  kingdom  of  light,  from  the  kingdom  of  unrighteousness, 
into  the  kingdom  of  righteousness.  Jacob,  fleeing  before 
Esau,  his  elder  brother,  after  he  had  obtained  of  him  his  birth- 
right, resting  his  head  upon  a  stone  in  the  dreary  wilderness, 
was  led,  in  a  dream,  to  behold  the  glories  and  beauties  of 
another  world,  to  see  God  revealed  to  him  and  the  promises  to 
his  fathers  renewed,  "  vowed  a  vow  "  and  consecrated  himself 
to  the  Lord  in  a  very  special  and  remarkable  manner,  and  was 
a  true  and  sincere  worshiper  of  the  living  God,  who  so  sig- 
nally revealed  himself  to  him  ujjon  that  and  other  occasions, 
which  shows  that  God  was  with  him,  and  hence  Jacob,  too, 
must,  by  the  grace  of  God,  through  repentance,  have  been 
made  a  partaker  of  that  righteousness  which  is  obtained  by 
faith  in  Christ  and  obedience  to  the  requirements  of  his  law 
or  word. 

But  the  course  of  Moses,  in  his  turning  to  God  and  to 


AND    HER   ACCUSERS.  l45 

God's  people,  seems  still  more  remarkable.  Moses  was  the 
adopted  son  of  the  king's  daughter.  He  had  reason  to  esteem 
her  as  the  preserver  of  his  life  ;  as  the  instrument  in  the 
hands  of  God  through  which,  he,  in  his  childhood,  was  res- 
cued from  the  vengeance  of  a  wicked  king.  He  was  reared 
in  the  royal  palace,  educated  in  all  the  wisdom  of  the  Egypt- 
ians, possessing  a  good  understanding  and  a  large  degree  of 
natural  talent,  he  had  before  him  the  brightest  prospects  of 
being  able  to  rise  high  in  worldly  honor,  power  and  influence. 
But  by  the  grace  of  God  he  was  led  to  esteem  all  these  as  of 
no  value,  and  with -an  unswerving  determination,  "when  he 
was  come  to  years,  refused  to  be  called  the  son  of  Pharaoh's 
daugliter,  choosing  rather  to  suffer  affliction  with  the  people 
of  God  than  to  enjoy  the  pleasures  of  sin  for  a  season."  He 
was  led  to  see  the  difference  between  earthly  and  heavenly 
honors,  between  a  perishable  and  an  imperishable  crown,  and 
in  view  of  this  he  would  rather  be  identified  with  the  poor 
herdsmen  and  the  brickmakers  of  the  land  of  Goshen,  who 
were  then  a  nation  of  slaves,  despised  and  under  a  powerful 
yoke  of  oppression,  than  to  live  in  the  palace  of  the  king  and 
enjoy  the  fullness  of  a  royal  board. 

This  change  could  not  have  been  brought  about  by  human 
power  alone.  A  divine  influence  operated  in  the  heart  of 
Moses  and  accomplished  the  work,  so  that  while  Moses  him- 
self was  led  to  turn  to  God  v/ith  a  living  faith  for  forgiveness, 
justification  and  salvation,  he  himself  became  a  beautiful  type 
of  the  Son  of  God,  "  who,  for  the  joy  that  was  set  before  him, 
endured  the  cross,  despising  the  shame  and  is  set  down  at  the 
right  hand  of  the  throne  of  God."     Heb.  12  :  2. 

That  Moses  not  only  looked  forward  to  the  imperishable 
crown  of  life,  and  the  rest  which  remaineth  for  the  people  of 
God,'  but  that  he  also  obtained  it,  and  that  already  before  the 
death  of  Christ,  is  clearly  shown  by  the  circumstances  con- 
nected with  the  transfiguration  (Luke  9  :  28 — 36),  where  both 
19 


146  THE   MENNONITB   CHURCH 

Moses  and  Elias  appeared  "  in  glory, ''^  *  and  talked  with  Jesus 
of  his  decease  which  he  should  accomplish  at  Jerusalem." 
And  as  these  two  holy  men  of  God  were  together  with  Jesus 
and  his  disciples  on  the  mountain,  they  received  a  token  of  the 
divine  favor,  by  being  overshadowed  by  a  cloud,  and  a  voice 
declaring,  "  This  is  my  beloved  Son  :  hear  him."  Could  we 
indeed  believe  that  God  would  have  conferred  so  great  a  favor 
on  men  who  were  in  their  sins,  and  had  died  in  their  sins,  as 
to  permit  them  to  go  on  such  a  mission  as  these  men  did,  and 
appear  "  i7i  glory''''  with  the  spotless  Lamb  of  God,  on  an 
occasion  like  this  ?  Indeed  among  the  large  number  of 
prophets,  patriarchs  and  holy  men  of  old,  whose  histories  are 
given  us  in  the  Scriptures,  we  have  no  example  of  any  one, 
who  enjoyed  greater  privileges,  and  received  higher  honors 
from  God  than  Moses,  and  we  Cannot  see  how  any  man  who 
is  a  believer  in  the  truths  and  doctrines  of  the  Bible,  can 
have  the  heart  to  stand  up  and  say  that  Moses,  "to  whom 
God  spake  as  a  man  to  his  friend,"  was  an  unregenerated 
man  ;  that  he  lived  and  died  in  his  sins,  or  that  he  was  not 
moved,  and  led,  and  directed  by  the  Holy  Spirit.  Can  any 
man  moved  by  the  Spirit  of  Christ,  write  and  assert  a  doc- 
trine so  at  variance  with  the  plain  teachings  of  both  the  Old 
and  New  Testaments,  and  the  writings  of  the  fathers  ?  It 
is  a  matter  of  the  greatest  surprise  that  one  who  claims  to  be 
so  strict  a  Mennonite,  the  representative  of  the  very  strictest 
sect  of  the  Mennonites,  a  man  who  claims  that  his  sect  alone 
deserves,  and  alone  can  lay  claim  to  the  time-honored  name  of 
Mennonite,  and  that  all  others  are  corrupt  and  have  departed 
both  fi-om  the  principles  and  practices  of  the  Mennonites  of 
earlier  days,  can  advance  and  hold  forth  a  doctrine,  so  directly 
contrary  to  the  teachings  of  Menno  Simon,  Dietrich  Philip 
and  our  oldest  confessions  of  faith. 

The   man    who  would  be  a  reformer  in   the  Mennonite 


*  Of  Lazarus,  too,  we  read  that  he  was  carried  by  the  angels  into 
aham's  bosom,  where  he  was   ''comforted.'''    This  was  also  previ- 


Abraham 

ous  to  the  crucifixion 


AND   HER   ACCUSERS.  147 


Church,  or  of  any  other  church,  should  needs,  possess  a  better 
knowledge,  both  of  the  word  of  God  and  the  doctrines  of  his 
predecessors  whom  he  professes  to  follow,  than  Daniel  Musser 
has  evinced  in  his  defense  of  the  views  of  the  Reformed 
Mennonite  Church,  respecting  the  spiritual  condition  of  the 
people  of  God  before  the  death  of  Christ. 

The  evidence  given  in  God's  word,  to  prove  and  establish 
the  truth  of  the  belief,  that  the  believers  under  the  Old  Dis- 
pensation were  accepted,  forgiven  and  justified,  and  that  they 
neither  lived  nor  died  in  their  sins,  as  Musser  claims,  are  so 
abundant  that  both  time  and  space  will  allow  us  only  to  refer 
briefly  to  a  few  more  instances. 

The  offerings  and  sacrifices  under  the  former  dispensation 
all  comprehended  within  themselves,  and  were  based  upon  the 
doctrine ;^of  forgiveness.  Every  transgression  required  its 
special  sacrifice.  And  the  offering  thus  made,  as  God  required 
it,  fulfilled  the  law  and  satisfied  the  demand  of  God,  so  that 
he  who  made  the  sacrifice  remained  in  favor  with  God  and 
enjoyed  his  blessings.  The  law  itself  required  obedience,  and 
acknowledged  no  excuse  and  knew  nothing  of  forgiveness, 
but  the  transgressor,  being  directed  by  his  sacrifice,  which  was 
made  by  the  shedding  of  blood,  to  the  great  sacrifice  which 
was  to  be  offered  once  for  all,  and  accepting  and  believing  the 
promise  of  God  in  reference  to  this  offering,  could,  through 
this  faith  receive  pardon  and  acceptance  of  God.  In  the  law 
of  offerings  and  sacrifices,  given  in  the  book  of  Leviticus,  we 
find  it  distinctly  declared,  that  when  an  offering  was  made  as 
i-equired,  and  tlie  priest  made  an  atonement  for  him  who  had 
transgressed,  for  the  sin  which  he  had  committed,  then  his  sin 
should  be  forgiven  him.     Lev.  5  :  10,  16,  18  ;  16  :  30. 

That  there  could  be,  and  was  forgiveness  of  sins  under 
the  Old  Dispensation,  is  distinctly  shown  in  the  examples  of 
Aaron,  David  and  others.  Aaron  was  High  Priest  in  Israel, 
chosen  to  the  sacred  office  by  God,  but  suffered  himself  with 
Israel,  to  be  led  into  the  terrible  sin  of  idolatry,  and  greatly 
offended  God.     Moses,  in  consequence,  returned  unto  God  and 


148  THE   MENNONITE    CHURCH 


prayed  for  the  forgiveness  of  this  sin,  aud  God  spared  his 
people,  and  Aaron  continued  to  be  High  Priest  as  he  had  been 
before.  Can  we  for  a  moment  entertain  the  idea  tliat  if  this 
sin  had  been  left  upon  Aaron,  he  could  have  acted  in  the 
capacity  of  High  Priesjb  of  God  in  Israel,  an  office  in  which  so 
many  sacred  and  holy  services  were  required  ?  But  as  a  matter 
of  course,  Aaron  and  all  Isi-ael  were  required  to  purge  and 
sanctify  themselves  from  their  sins. 

David  was  guilty  of  the  double  crime  of  murder  and 
adultery,  and  greatly  sinned  against  God,  but  he  humbled 
himself,  repented  of  his  sins,  prayed  for  forgiveness,  and  God 
heard  his  prayer,  and  he  enjoyed  God's  blessing  and  promise, 
and  was  a  man  of  God,  as  well  after  his  transgi-ession,  as 
before.  Likewise  when  on  account  of  their  sins,  God  deter- 
mined to  overthrow  the  Ninevites,  and  commanded  Jonah  to 
go  and  proclaim  it  throughout  their  city,  when  they  heard 
it,  they  gave  heed,  proclaimed  a  fast  and  repented,  and  God 
spared  them. 

John  the  baptist  preached  repentance  and  baptized  with 
the  baptism  of  repentance,  and  was  ordained  of  God  for  this 
work,  as  the  forerunner  of  Christ,  and  was  "  filled  with  the 
Holy  Ghost,  even  from  his  mother's  womb."  Luke  1  :  J  5. 
How  unreasonable  it  is  to  think  that  he  could  have  been  in 
his  sins,  while  in  the  performance  of  this  solemn  work. 

When  they  brought  one  sick  of  the  palsy  to  Jesus,  he 
said,  "  Son,  be  of  good  cheer  ;  thy  sins  be  forgiven  thee," 
and  when  Jesus  was  eating  in  the  Pharisee's  house  ;  and  the 
woman  which  was  a  sinner  came  weeping,  and  washing  his 
feet  with  tears,  wiping  them  with  the  hairs  of  her  head, 
kissing  them  and  anointing  them  with  the  ointment  she  had 
brought,  he  sharply  reproved  his  host  for  neglect  of  his  duties 
and  said,  concerning  this  woman  "  Mer  sins,  which  are  many, 
are  forgiven."     Matt.  9:2;  Luke  V  :  47. 

Here  we  have  two  plain  and  undeniable  instances  of  the 
forgiveness  of  sins,  where  sins  actually  were  forgiven,  before 
the  death  of  Christ,  which  prove  to  us  incontrovertibly   that 


AND    HER   ACCUSERS.  149 

there  was  forgiveness  of  sins  under  the  Old  Dispensation  as 
well  as  under  the  New.  These  instances,  the  reader  will 
remember,  though  granted  by  Christ,  when  upon  earth,  after 
his  advent  in  the  world,  were  given,  while  the  Old  Dispensa- 
tion was  yet  in  force,  and  before  Christ  had  died  and  made 
the  great  atonement  for  the  world,  in  his  own  body  upon 
the  cross  The  New  Dispensation  was  not  put  in  force  until 
after  his  death  and  resurrection.  A  testament  has  no  force 
while  the  testator  is  yet  living,  but  only  after  he  is  dead. 

It  is  true  that  there  is  a  difference  in  the  requirements  and 
practices  of  the  church  under  the  Old  and  New  Dispensations, 
but  the  same  results  were  arrived  at  and  the  design  or  purpose 
was  the  same,  namely,  the  salvation  of  man."  Under  the  Old, 
offerings  and  sacrifices,  and  the  observing  of  the  judgments, 
commandments  and  statutes,  given  of  God,  were  required,  and 
when  these  were  performed  and  observed  in  God's  own 
appointed  way,  his  requirements  were  fulfilled ;  he  was  pleased 
with  his  people  and  his  blessings  and  promises  followed,  as  he 
declares  Lev.  18  :  5,  "  Ye  shall  therefore  keej)  my  statutes, 
and  my  judgments^;  which  if  a  man  do,  he  shall  live  in  them," 
and  as  we  also  read  of  Zacharias  and  Elizabeth,  the  parents  of 
John  the  Baptist,  that  "they  were  both  righteous  before  God, 
walking  in  all  the  commandments  and  ordinances  of  the  Lord 
blameless."  Luke  1  :  6.  Under  the  New  Dispensation,  the 
Worship  which  consisted  "  only  in  meats  and  drinks  and 
divers  washings  and  carnal  ordinances,''  was  superceded  by 
the  more  perfect  law,  which  requires  man  to  worship  "  him  in 
spirit  and  in  truth."  Menno  Simon  bears  us  testimony  in  this 
when  he  says.  Part  2,  Page  77,  "The  church  of  the  pious  is 
from  the  beginning  ;  yet,  it  had  not  always  the  same  ordi- 
nances, nor  was  it  always  called  by  the  same  name,  in  the 
Scriptures." 

From  the  foregoing  it  will  be  seen  that  the  Old  Dispensa- 
tion was  designed  for  the  benefit  of  God's  people,  and  that 
the  benefits  it  designed,  were  given  to  and  enjoyed  by  those 
who  lived  under  that  dispensation  and  availed  themselves  of 


150  THE   MBNNONITE   CHURCH 


it.  Any  one  desiring  to  avail  himself  of  the  blessings  and 
promises  of  God,  was  required  to  believe  and  to  turn  to  God 
with  a  sincere  heart,  like  Abel,  Noah,  Abraham,  Moses  and 
others  as  we  have  shown,  and  thus  they  were  made  acceptable 
before  God  through  faith  in  the  promised  Redeemer,  just  as 
we  are  by  faith  in  a  crucified  and  risen  Redeemer.  Then  if 
they  were  made  acceptable  it  must  folloAV  that  their  sins  were 
forgiven,  that  they  were  children  of  God,  and  that  they  were 
fit  material  from  which  to  form  a  church  ;  that  they  were 
God's  church  and  that  they  were  directed  by  his  Spirit,  as  will 
yet  hereafter  be  shown. 


CHAPTER  XL 

NO  CHILDREN  OF  GOD — NO  RECEIVING  OP  THE  HOLY  GHOST — 
NO  CHURCH  OP  GOD. 

In  the  last  chapter,  we  have  distinctly  and  undeniably 
shown  that  through  faith  in  the  promises  of  God  there  was 
forgiveness  of  sins  under  the  Old  Dispensation,  as  well  as 
under  the  New  ;  and  the  several  parts  of  our  subject  are  so 
intimately  connected  with  each  other,  that  when  we  have 
proved  one,  all  the  others  must,  as  a  consequence,  follow. 

Friend  Musser  claims  that  there  were  no  children  of  God, 
because,  to  become  a  child  of  God,  one  must  be  regenerated  ; 
and  because  there  was  no  forgiveness  of  sins,  men  could  not 
be  made  partakers  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  because  the  Holy 
Ghost  could  not  be  given  unto  men,  there  could  be  no  regen- 
eration and  consequently  there  was  no  means,  by  which  men 
could  be  brought  into  a  union  with  God  and  into  the  relation- 
ship of  children. 

But  we  have  shown  that  there  was  forgiveness  of  sins. 
Nothing  can  be  more  plainly  taught  in  the  Word  of  God,  than 
that  there  was  forgiveness  of  sins  under  the  former  dispensa- 
tion as  well  as  under  the  latter.  And  we  propose  to  show 
further  that  believers  under  the  former  dispensation  not  only 
obtained  forgiveness  of  sins,  but  that  they  were  also  regen- 
erated and  that  they  were  united  with  God  in  the  relationship 
of  children,  and  that  from  the  very  nature  of  things  they 
could  not  have  occupied  any  other  position. 

Forgiveness  of  sins  can  only  be  granted  to  him  who  sin- 
cerely  repents   and   becomes   willing   to   forsake   all   that  is 


152  THE   MENNONITE   CHUECQ 


opposed  to  the  will  of  God,  and  to  do  all  that  God  commands 
him  to  do,  trusting  alone  in  the  merits  of  Christ  for  salvation. 
When  a  person,  by  the  grace  of  God  and  the  co-operating 
influence  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  is  brought  into  this  state  of  mind 
he  is  converted  ;  he  is  changed  ;  "  he  is  a  new  creature  ;  old 
things  have  passed  away,  behold,  all  things  are  become  new." 
In  the  language  of  the  Psalmist  ( Ps.  40  :  3),  "  He  (God)  hath 
put  a  new  song  into  his  mouth,  even  praise  unto  our  God." 
God  has  given  him  a  new  lieart,  a  clean  heart,  and  renewed  a 
right  spirit  within  him  (Ps.  51  :  10).  Yea,  he  hath  put  on  the 
new  man,  which  after  God  is  created  in  righteousness  and  true 
holiness  (Eph.  4  :  24).  He  is  now  no  longer  under  the  con- 
demnation of  sin,  "being  justified  by  faith,  having  peace 
with  God  through  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  by  whom  also,"  as 
the  apostle  says  (Rom,  5  :  2),  "  we  have  access  by  faith  unto 
this  grace  wherein  we  stand  and  rejoice  in  the  hope  of  the 
glory  of  God." 

Now  sin,  being  the  transgression  of  the  law  of  God,  is 
the  barrier  which  separates  the  unconverted  and  impenitent 
from  God;  as  the  prophet,  Isaiah  (59  :  2),  says,  "Your  iniq- 
uities have  separated  between  you  and  your  God,  and  your 
sins  have  hid  his  face  from  you."  Jesus  Christ  came  to  suffer 
and  die  for  sin,  and  by  his  death  on  the  cross  and  the  shed- 
ding of  his  precious  blood,  to  take  away  sin  and  reconcile  us 
to  God  (Rom.  5  :  10).  Thus  Christ  has  become  our  peace  and 
our  reconciliation,  and  through  him,  as  Paul  says,  Eph,  2  : 
18 — 20,  both  Jews  and  Gentiles  have  access  by  one  Spirit  unto 
the  Father,  and  are  no  more  strangers  and  foreigners,  biat 
fellow  citizens  with  the  saints,  and  of  the  household  of  God, 
built  upon  the  foundation  of  the  apostles  and  prophets,  Jesus 
Christ  himself  being  the  chief  corner-stone. 

Now,  when  the  cause  which  separates  two  persons  from 
each  other  is  removed  they  come  together.  When  the  enmity 
which  lies  between  pei'sons  or  nations  is  taken  away,  then  there 
is  peace.  So  when  sin  is  removed  between  man  and  God, 
there  is  a  reconciliation,  there  is  a  union  ;  man  is  brought  into 


AKTD    HER   ACCUSBES.  153 

commuuion  with  God.  The  apostle  calls  this  a  fellow-citizen- 
ship with  the  household  of  God.  And  if  we  are  of  the  house- 
hold of  God,  we  must  be  children  of  God.  See  Gal.  3  :  7 — 9, 
14  and  29. 

But  again,  when  we  are  converted  and  obtain  peace  with 
God,  and  become  united  with  him  in  the  promises  oif  salvation 
through  Jesus  Christ,  and  are  renewed  in  our  hearts,  and  seek 
to  lay  up  for  ourselves  treasures  in  heaven,  then  we  are  regen- 
erated and  born  again,  as  the  apostle  says,  1  Pet  1:3,"  God 
hath  begotten  us  again  unto  a  lively  hope  by  the  resui-rection 
of  Jesus  Christ  from  the  dead,"  who  "by  one  offering  hath 
pei-fected  forever  them  that  are  sanctified."     Heb.  10  :  14. 

But  the. adherents  of  the  doctrines  of  Musser  will  tell  us 
that  all  these  things  are  said  of  those  under  the  gospel  dispen- 
sation, of  those  who  live  and  have  lived  since  the  death  and 
resurrection  of  Christ.  How  shall  these  things  then  apply  to 
those  who  lived  before  the  offering  up  of  Jesus? 

Jesus  Christ  is  the  Lamb  which  taketh  away  the  sin  of 
the  world.  He  is  called  the  Lamb  of  God,  slain  from  the 
foundation  of  the  world;  and  Paul  says,  Eph.  1  :  3 — 5, 
"  Blessed  be  the  God  and  Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
who  has  blessed  us  with  all  spiritual  blessings  in  heavenly 
places  in  Christ,  according  as  he  hath  chosen  us  in  him,  before 
the  foundation  of  the  world,  that  we  should  be  holy  and  with- 
out blame,  before  him  in  love,  having  predestinated  its  to 
the  adoption  of  children  by  Jesus  Christ  to  himself,  accord- 
ing to  the  good  pleasure  of  his  will." 

Now,  when  we  carefully  investigate  the  condition  of  the 
believers  under  the  law,  we  find  that  they  confessed  their 
sins,  that  they  repented,  that  their  sins  were  forgiven,  that 
they  were  accepted  of  God  and  stood  in  the  highest  favor, 
and  the  most  intimate  communion  with  God.  This  is  shown 
very  clearly  in  the  case  of  Adam  and  Eve,  as  seen  in  the 
preceding  chapter.  Abel  also  was  a  man,  born  of  the  sinful 
seed  of  Adam  as  othei-  men  ;  his  nature,  as  inherited  from 
Adam  and   Eve,  was  of  the  same  character  as  that  of  Cain. 

20 


164  THE    MENNONITE    CHURCH 

But  Abel  is  called  "righteous  Abel,"  while  Cain  was  a  mur- 
derer. How  did  Abel  attain  to  his  righteousness  ?  There  was 
only  one  way,  and  unless  Abel  came  in  that  way,  he  could 
never  have  attained  that  righteousness  and  been  acceptable  to 
God.  That  way  was,  to  believe  the  promise  of  God,  repent 
of  his  sins,  confess  them  and  turn  to  the  Lord  with  all  his 
heart.  And  as  he  was  called  "  righteous  Abel "  and  was 
acceptable  to  God,  we  have  an  incontrovertible  proof  that  he 
was  both  converted  and  regenerated.  And  what  is  said  of 
Abel  may,  with  equal  propriety,  be  said  of  Enoch,  of  Noah, 
of  Moses,  Abraham  and  others  ;  indeed,  what  in  this  respect 
is  said  of  one  of  the  believers  under  the  law,  may  be  said,  and 
held  of  all  of  them. 

Again,  if  Christ  was  slain  from  the  foundation  of  the 
world,  and  if  we,  as  the  apostle  says,  were  chosen  of  God,  in 
Christ,  from  the  foundation  of  the  world,  to  the  adoption  of 
children,  and  both  Jews  and  Gentiles,  as  shown  above, 
"  have  access  by  one  Spirit  unto  the  Father,"  and  thus 
become  fellow-citizens  of  the  household  of  faith,  then  we 
must  conclude  that  all  these  believers  under  the  Mosaic  Dis- 
pensation, not  only  had  the  promise  that  they  should  be  saved 
when  Christ  came,  but  they  were  then  saved  through  faith  in 
the  promise.  We  nowhere  find  that  God  promises  to  save  the 
believer  at  some  future  time.  He  says,  "N'oio  is  the  accepted 
time,  behold,  npto  is  the  day  of  salvation,"  and  again  he  says, 
"To-day  if  ye  will  hear  his  voice,  harden  not  your  hearts." 
We  can  find  no  evidence  that  God  ever  said  to  his  people  that 
he  could  not  noio  save  them  ;  that  they  must  wait  for  the 
accomplishment  of  certain  events  ;  that  they  must  lie  bound 
until  the  Lion  of  the  tribe  of  Judah  should  come  and  break  in 
sunder  the  chains  of  sin,  before  they  could  be  freed  from  sin  ; 
nay,  he  declares  that  from  the  foundation  of  the  world  the  plan 
of  salvation  was  laid,  and  in  his  eternal  providence,  Christ  was 
then  already  slain,  and  the  full  benefits  of  his  death  and  suffering 
could  be  bestowed,  and  were  bestowed  to  the  believers  under 
the  law  and  before  the  law,  as  well  as  to  those  under  the  gospel. 


AND    HER   ACCUSERS.  156 

God  is  not  limited  in  his  ways  and  powers  as  men  are. 
His  eternal  plan  of  salvation  was  so  laid,  even  from  the  begin- 
ning of  time,  that  the  great  work  of  human  redemption  must 
center  in  Christ,  and  so  far  as  God  was  concei'ned,  salvation 
could  just  as  well  be  granted  to  those  who  came  before  Christ, 
as  to  those  who  came  afterwards.  With  God,  a  thousand  yeai's 
are  as  one  day,  and  one  day  as  a  thousand  years.  God  is  not 
limited  by  time,  and  therefore,  with  God,  the  brief  space  inter- 
vening between  the  creation  and  the  crucifixion  could  not 
affect  them  in  the  least.  The  essential  point  being  the  accept- 
ance of  the  proffered  mercy.*  When  Moses  lifted  up  the 
serpent  in  the  wilderness,  the  promise  was  not  that  they 
should  be  healed  after  a  time,  or  after  they  had  reached  the 
land  of  Canaan  ;  they  "were  healed  immediately,  and  Christ 
being  lifted  up  for  the  salvation  of  the  world,  could  bestow 
his  healing  influences  to  those  who  believed  on  him,  even 
before  he  had  suffered.  Human  law  recognizes  the  virtue  of 
surety-ship,  and  a  man  under  obligations  to  the  law,  and  not 
able  to  fulfill  them,  gives  a  surety,  a  bondsman  who  is  bound 
for  the  fulfillment  of  the  obligation,  and  the  principal,  by 
virtue  of  his  bondsman,  is  set  at  liberty.  So  Christ  may  be 
looked  upon  as  the  great  bondsman  of  the  human  race  under 
the  former  dispensation.  Him  God  could  accept,  and  being 
held  for  their  sins,  believers  were  set  at  liberty. 

If  then,  as  we  have  seen  from  the  foregoing,  believers 
under  the  law,  could  by  virtue  of  their  faith  in  the  promised 
Redeemer,  i-eceive  such  favors  of  God  as  the  forgiveness  of 
sins  ;  if  they  could  be  brought  into  that  nearness  to  God 
which  is  so  boldly  set  forth  in  the  history  of  the  patriarchs 
and  prophets  ;  if  they  could  be  acknowledged  as  "Righteous," 
as  pleasing  to  God,  as  "just"  and  "walking  with  God,"  as 
perfect,  upright  and  fearing  God  ;  then,  according  to  the 
indisputable  testimonies  of  God's  word,  we  must  conclude  that 
they  were  regenerated,   born    anew,    and   possessed    in    their 

*  It  would   be  inconsistent  with  the  character  of  God  to  oft'er 
salvation,  when  he  could  not  give  it. 


166  THE    MENNONITE   CHURCH 

hearts  the  full  favors  of  the  gospel,  and  if  we  accept  this  con- 
clusion, then  they  must  have  stood  in  the  relationship  of 
children  of  God,  and  could  have  occupied  no  other  position, 
because  the  Bible  speaks  only  of  two  classes,  of  two  kingdoms, 
of  two  ways.  With  one  or  the  other  of  these  we  must  be 
identitied.  There  is  no  middle  class,  and  if  we  are  believers, 
we  are  of  the  household  of  faith,  and  if  we  are  of  the  house- 
hold of  faith,  then  we  are  children,  as  the  apostle  so  abund- 
antly shows  in  his  references  to  the  holy  men  of  old,  in  the 
eleventh  chapter  of  his  epistle  to  the  Hebrews. 

We  have  now  seen  from  the  testimonies  of  the  word  of 
God,  that  believers  under  the  laAV  and  before  the  law,  could 
obtain  forgiveness  of  sins  ;  and  consequently  they  could  be 
regenerated  and  born  again,  according  to  the  requirements  of 
the  gospel  and  the  words  of  our  Savior.  But  whence  cometh 
this  new  birth  ?  By  what  power  is  regeneration  accom- 
plished ? 

The  new  birth  is  a  spiritual  birth.  The  Savior  said  to 
Nicodemus  :  "  Verily,  verily  I  say  unto  thee,  Except  a  man 
be  born  again,  he  cannot  see  the  Kingdom  of  God."  Again, 
"  Except  a  man  be  born  of  water  and  of  the  Spirit,  he  cannot 
enter  the  Kingdom  of  God."  And  further,  "that  which  is 
born  of  the  Spirit,  is  Spirit."  Musser,  himself,  makes  this 
declaration,  "  It  is  evident  that  we  become  the  children  of 
God,  by  a  spiritual  birth  ;  but  we  surely  cannot  be  born  of  the 
Spirit  without  becoming  partakei-s  of  or  possessing  the  Spirit." 
This  declaration  we  fully  admit,  and  reasoning  from  this  stand 
point,  it  becomes  evident,  that  if  believers,  under  the  law,  had 
their  sins  forgiven  and  were  regenerated,  as  we  have  shown 
above,  they  must  have  been  born  of  the  Spirit ;  they  must 
have  both  been  made  partakers  of  and  possessed  the  Spirit. 
Consequently  they  must  have  been  cleansed  and  purified,  and 
in  a  pure  heai't  the  Spirit  seeks  his  dwelling  place. 

Every  man  is  prompted  or  moved  and  led  by  some  power, 
or  motive  ;  some  inward,  hidden  principle,  and  this  hidden  or 
unseen  power  in  man  is  called  the  spirit  of  man.     Paul  says 


AND   HER   ACCtJSERS.  157 

(l/Cor.  2  :  11),  "For  what  man  knoweth  the  things  of  a  man, 
save  the  spirit  of  man  which  is  in  him."  Elihu,  one  of  Job's 
comforters,  says  "  There  is  a  spirit  in  man,  and  the  inspiration 
of  the  Almighty  giveth  him  understanding."  And  again,  "  I 
am  full  of  matter  ;  the  spirit  within  me  con  strain  eth  me." 

The  two  great  controlling  powers  under  whose  guidance 
and  direction  all  men  live,  are,  First: — The  spirit  of  the  world, 
the  prince  of  the  power  of  the  air,  the  spirit  that  now  worketh 
in  the  children  of  disobedience.  This  spirit  is  an  enemy  to 
God,  and  to  all  that  is  good.  He  leads  men  away  from  all 
righteousness  and  purity  into  sin  and  ungodliness.  He  tempted 
Eve  to  take  of  the  forbidden  fruit  and  transgress  God's  law, 
that  he  might  destroy  the  happiness  of  our  first  parents  and 
the  glory  of  the  creation  of  God.  It  was  this  evil  spirit,  who 
has  been  a  deceiver  and  a  liar  from  the  beginning,  that  led 
Cain  to  slay  his  brother,  and  it  was  he  who  instigated,  during 
all  the  ages  of  time,  the  sin,  and  shame,  and  crime  that  existed 
in  the  world,  and  this  is  his  work  still.  He  goeth  about  like 
a  roaring  lion  seeking  whom  he  may  devour  ;  he  transforms 
himself  into  an  angel  of  light,  that  he  may  deceive  the  more. 
His  works  are  summed  up  by  the  apostle  as  the  works  of  the 
flesh,  and  consist  of  "Adultery,  fornication,  unclean ness,  las- 
civiousness,  idolatry,  witchcraft,  hatred,  variance,  emulation, 
wrath,  strife,  seditions,  heresies,  envyings,  murders,  drunken- 
ness, revellings,  and  such  like,  of  which  I  tell  you  before,  as  I 
have  also  told  you  in  time  past,  that  they  which  do  such 
things,  shall  not  inherit  the  kingdom  of  God." 

Secondly. — The  Spirit  of  God,  the  Holy  Spirit ;  that  good 
Spirit  which  is  sent  into  the  world  to  convince  the  world  of 
sin,  of  righteousness  and  of  judgment  to  come  ;  which  leads 
men  into  all  truth,  and  directs  them  in  paths  of  purity  and 
holiness,  which  leads  men  to  bring  forth  the  good  fruit  of 
"  Love,  joy,  peace,  long-suffering,  gentleness,  goodness,  faith, 
meekness,  temperance,  against  which  there  is  no  law."  It  was 
this  good  Spirit  which  descended  from  heaven  upon  the  Savior 
as  he  came  up  out  of  the  Jordan,  after  his  baptism  ;  it  was  the 


158  THB  MBNNONITE   CHtlBCH 

same  Spirit  that  was  shed  abroad  in  an  especial  manner  on  the 
day  of  pentecost,*  and  empowered  the  disciples  to  speak  with 
other  tongues,  and  so  preach  Christ  and  him  crucified  that 
three  thousand  souls,  that  same  day.  turned  away  from  their 
sins  and  from  the  world,  and  consecrated  themselves  unto  the 
service  of  God.  It  is  this  same  good  Spirit  which  always 
dwells  with  all  good  people,  and  directs  them  in  all  their  ways. 

Under  the  Old  Dispensation,  these  same  two  elements  or 
principles  of  good  and  evil,  existed  and  manifested  themselves 
among  the  children  of  men,  and  men  were  servants  to  one  or 
the  other,  as  the  apostle  says,  they  were  servants  to  hira  to 
whom  they  yielded  themselves  servants  to  obey,  "whether  of 
sin  unto  death,  or  of  obedience  unto  righteousness." 

Now,  if  we  pursue  the  thread  of  our  argument  a  little 
further,  we  will  discover  how  utterly  unjust  it  would  be  for  us, 
to  deny  that  believers  under  the  Old  Dispensation  were  devoid 
of  the  Spirit  of  God.  They  were  led  by  one  of  these  two 
Spirits,  and  if  they  were  not  led  by  the  good  Spirit,  they  must 
have  been  led  by  the  evil  Spirit,  If  they  were  not  led  by  the 
Spirit  of  God,  they  must  have  been  led  by  the  Spirit  of  dark- 
ness. But  the  word  of  God  bears  testimony  that  they  were 
righteous,  just,  and  God-fearing  men,  that  they  were  of  good 


*  The  outpouring  or  descending  of  the  Holy  Ghost  on  the  day  of 
Pentecost,  at  .Jerusalem,  immediately  after  the  ascension  of  Jesus, 
does  not  signify  or  prove,  that  there  was  no  Holy  Ghost  previously, 
for  as  belonging  to  the  Holy  Trinity,  the  Holy  Ghost  is  co-exist«nt 
with  the  Father  and  the  Son,  and  hence  eternal.  Neither  does  it  sig- 
nify nor  prove,  that  the  Holy  Spirit  did  not  previously  dwell  with 
men,  as  we  have  already  shown,  but  the  Holy  Ghost  was  thus  signally 
poured  out.  First,  to  prove  the  work  and  commission  of  the  apostles 
from  God.  Secondly,  to  endue  them  with  power  from  on  high — and 
bestow  upon  them  special  gifts.  Thirdly,  to  show  forth  the  fullness 
and  freeness  of  the  Gospel,  and  that  the  restrictions  which  existed 
under  the  Mosaic  Dispensation,  which  was  especially  for  the  Jews, 
and  not  for  the  Gentiles,  were  now  removed  and  that  God's  Spirit 
should  be  poured  out  upon  all  fle.sh,  without  distinction  of  language 
or  nationality,  that  whosoever  should  call  upon  the  name  of  the  Lord, 
whether  Jew  or  Gentile,  should  be  saved,  and  that  salvation  through 
Jesus  Christ  should  now  be  preached,  and  be  free  to  all  nations, 
tongues  and  people. 


AND    HER   ACCUSERS.  159 


report ;  that  they  feared  God  and  eschewed  evil ;  and  it  seems 
to  us  outright  blasphemy  to  say  that  such  men  as  the  patri- 
archs and  prophets,  and  the  holy  men  of  old,  whose  glorious 
examples  of  goodness,  piety,  and  faithful  devotion  to  God,  are 
a  bulwark  of  strength  to  every  Christian  of  succeeding  ages, 
did  not  possess  the  Spirit  of  God ;  for  by  saying  this,  we  have 
only  one  alternative,  and  that  is',  to  maintain  that  these  godly 
men  were  led,  influenced  and  governed  by  the  Spirit  of  dark- 
ness, by  the  evil  Spirit.  Such  a  conclusion,  while  the  mind 
revolts  at  the  idea,  is  entirely  contrary  to  the  spirit  and  tenor 
of  the  Scriptures. 

When  God  said,  "  My  Spirit  shall  not  always  strive  with 
man,"  we  must  understand  that  the  Spirit  of  God  was  then 
already  given  as  a, guide  and  director  to  those  who  would 
receive  it.  But  the  ungodly  and  corrupted  antediluvians  would 
not  be  governed  by  his  Spirit ;  they  would  not  accept  his 
reproofs.  Now  it  would  have  been  useless  for  the  Spirit  to 
strive  with  men,  when  that  Spirit  could  not  be  given  them,  or 
while  they  could  not  be  made  partakers  of  that  Spirit. 

David  says  (Ps.  51  :  11 ),  "  Cast  me  not  from  thy  presence 
and  take  not  thy  Holy  Spirit  from  me."  Here  we  seem  to 
have  conclusive  and  positive  evidence  that  David  did  possess 
the  Holy  Spirit  of  God.  He  prayed,  not  that  he  might  receive 
him,  not  that  the  Spirit  should  be  given  to  him,  but  that  he 
should  not  be  taken  from  him.  Had  David  not  possessed  the 
Holy  Spirit,  he  could  not  have  thus  prayed. 

In  the  days  of  Nehemiah,  when  Israel  had  returned  from 
their  captivity  in  Babylon  and  rebuilt  the  walls  of  Jerusalem, 
and  the  people  were  assembled,  and  confessed  their  sins,  and 
humbled  themselves  before  God,  and  the  Levites  made  an 
acknowledgment  of  God's  goodness,  in  rehearsing  what  God 
did  for  their  ancestors,  they  confessed  to  God,  saying,  "  Thou 
gavest  also  thy  good  Spirit  to  instruct  them.'''' 

The  prophet  Isaiah,  in  referring  to  the  children  of  Israel 
in  the  wilderness,  says,  "  They  rebelled  and  vexed  his  Holy 
Spirit."     Stephen,  the  first  Christian  Martyr,  in  his  memorable 


160  THB    MBNNONITE    CHUBCH 

defense  against  the  Jews,  says  to  them,  "  Ye  stiff-necked,  and 
uncircumcised  in  heart  and  ears,  ye  do  always  resist  the 
Holy   Ghost;  as  your  fathers  did,  so  do  ye." 

When  God  commanded  Moses  to  appoint  seventy  elders 
to  assist  him  in  his  arduous  duties,  the  Lord  said,  "  Gather 
unto  me  seventy  men  of  the  elders  of  Israel,  *  *  *  and  I  will 
come  down  and  talk  with  thee  then,  and  I  will  take  of  the 
Spirit  which  is  upon  thee  and  will  put  it  upon  them." 

Now,  if  the  Lord  gave  his  Spirit  to  instruct  his  people, 
Israel  ;  if  Israel  could  rebel  against,  vex  and  resist  the  Holy 
Spirit  of  God,  and  if  the  Lord  could  take  of  the  Spirit  which 
was  upon  Moses  and  put  it  upon  the  seventy  elders,  what 
further  evidence  do  we  need  to  show  that  believers,  before  the 
advent  and  suffering  of  our  Savior,  also  possessed  the  Holy 
Ghost  ? 

The  apostle  tells  us  that  no  man  can  say  that  Jesus  is  the 
Lord  but  by  the  Holy  Ghost  (1  Cor.  12  :  3).  Peter,  before  the 
crucifixion  of  Christ,  when  Jesus  asked,  "  But  whom  say  ye 
that  I  am?"  answered,  and  said,  "Thou  art  the  Christ,  the 
Son  of  the  living  God."  Jesus  replied  to  him  in  these  com- 
forting words,  "  Blessed  art  thou,  Simon  Bar-jona,  for  flesh 
and  blood  hath  not  revealed  it  unto  thee,  but  my  Father 
which  is  in  heaven."  How  was  this  revelation  given  if  not  by 
the  Divine  Spirit  ?  Job  said,  "I  know  that  my  Redeemer 
liveth."  How  could  he  know  this,  if  it  was  not  revealed  to 
him  by  the  Holy  Spirit  ? 

If  we  take  into  consideration  the  incidents  connected  with 
the  advent  of  Jesus  Christ,  we  will  there  alone  find  evidence 
sufficient  to  establish,  beyond  controversy,  the  fact  that  the 
Ploly  Ghost  dwelt  in  and  with  the  believers  before  the  death 
of  Christ,  as  well  as  after,  to  which  the  apostle  Peter  also 
bears  testimony  when  he  says,  1  Pet.  1  :  10 — 12.  "Of  which 
salvation  the  prophets  have  inquired  and  searched  diligently, 
who  prophesied  of  the  grace  that  should  come  unto  you  ; 
searching  what,  or  in  what  manner  of  time  the  Spirit  of 
Christ  v>hich  teas  in  them   did   signify,   when   it   testified 


AND  HER  ACCUSERS.  161 

beforehand  the  sufferings  of  Christ,  and  the  gloi'v  that  should 
follow." 

Of  John  the  baptist  it  was  said,  "  For  he  shall  be  great  in 
the  sight  of  the  Lord,  and  shall  drink  neither  wine  nor  strong 
drink  ;  and  he  shall  be  filled  with  the  Holy  Ghost,  even  from 
his  mother's  womb."  "  He  shall  go  before  him  in  the  Spirit 
and  power  of  Elias,"  &c.  If  John  was  filled  with  the  Holy 
Ghost  from  his  childhood,  and  went  forth  in  the  Spirit  of 
Elias,  then  Elias  too,  who  lived  under  the  Old  Dispensation, 
under  the  law  of  Moses,  must  have  possessed  the  same  Spirit, 
i.  e.,the  Holy  Ghost.     Nothing  can  be  plainer. 

The  Holy  Ghost  came  upon  Mary  the  mother  of  Jesus, 
and  when  she  came  to  Elizabeth  the  mother  of  John,  and 
saluted  her,  "  Elizabeth  was  filled  with  the  Holy  Ghost." 
Zacharias,  after  the  birth  of  John,  when  the  child  was  named, 
and  his  tongue,  which  had  been  bound  many  months,  was 
loosed,  and  he  spake  again  and  praised  God,  "he  was  filled 
with  the  Holy  Ghost  and  prophesied."  Simeon  was  a  just 
and  devout  man,  waiting  for  the  consolation  of  Israel,  and  the 
Holy  Ghost  was  upon  him,  and  it  was  revealed  to  him  by  the 
Holy  Ghost,  that  he  should  not  see  death,  before  he  had  seen 
the  Lord's  Christ,  and  being  led  by  the  Spirit,  he  came  into 
the  Temple,  at  the  time  when  the  parents  of  Jesus  brought  in 
the  child,  to  do  for  him  after  the  custom  of  the  law,  and  took 
up  the  child  and  blessed  God,  and  desired  to  depart  in  peace 
to  his  reward,  for,  says  he,  "  Mine  eyes  have  seen  thy  salva- 
tion." The  Holy  Spirit  revealed  to  him,  also,  that  this  was 
the  Lord's  Christ. 

We  shall  leave  this  part  of  our  subject  here.  We  find  the 
evidence  of  Scripture,  proving  the  work  of  the  Holy  Spirit  in  the 
believers  under  the  former  dispensation,  so  abundant,  that  we 
can  only  present  our  readers  with  a  very  limited  part  of  them. 
We  have  only  opened  up  the  subject,  and  leave  our  readers,  who 
have  time  and  inclination  to  do  so,  to  pursue  it  further  at  leisure, 
though  we  have  said  enough  fully  and  clearly  to  establish  our 
position,  and  that  is  all  that  is  necessary  for  our  present  purpose. 
21 


162  THE   MENNONITE    CHUKCH 

Finally,  we  come  to  consider  the  assertion  of  D.  Musser, 
that  there  was  no  Church  of  God  previous  to  the  formation 
of  the  Apostolic  Church  on  the  day  of  Pentecost.  The  incor- 
rectness and  inconsistency  of  this  assertion  becomes  evide\^t 
from  the  conclusions  arrived  at  under  the  three  preceding 
heads  We  will  remember  that  Musser  asserts,  that  the  reason 
why  God  did  not  form  a  church  under  the  former  dispensation 
was,  because  there  was  no  proper  material  from  which  to  build 
such  a  structure. 

But  we  have  seen  that  men  from  the  beginning  could  and 
did  repent,  and  that  they  obtained  forgiveness  of  sins,  and 
were  brought  into  favor  witli  God,  and  into  the  most  intimate 
relations,  and  fellowship  with  him  ;  that  they,  through  grace, 
by  faith  in  the  promises  of  God,  were  renewed  in  their  hearts 
and  regenerated,  and  that  they  possessed  the  Holy  Ghost,  and 
in  every  sense  of  the  word,  were  brought,  by  that  divine  Spirit, 
into  the  relationship  of  the  children  of  God.  Hence,  if  there 
was  no  church  of  God,  before  the  day  of  Pentecost,  when  the 
first  Apostolic  Church  was  formed,  it  must  have  been  for  some 
other  reason,  and  not  because  there  was  no  proper  material 
from  which  to  form  it. 

But  we  assert  that  the  first  church  of  God,  on  earth,  was 
formed  with  Adam  and  Eve  in  the  garden  of  Eden,  and  this 
is  the  view  which  has  always  been  held  by  the  Mennonite 
Church.  Musser  admits  that  the  relation  existing  between 
God  and  man  in  the  garden  of  Eden,  was  such,  that  it  would 
seem  to  favor  or  countenance  the  idea  that  it  might  be 
called  a  church.  The  relationship  of  a  church  of  God,  was 
sundered,  however,  when  Adam  ajid  Eve  transgressed  and  fell. 
But  as  soon  as  God  promised  that  Savior,  who  should  bruise  the 
serpent's  head,  and  they  confessed  their  sins  and  accepted  this 
promise,  they  were  restored  to  his  favor;  that  which  through 
Adam's  transgression  was  lost,  Avas,  through  faith  in  the  promise 
restored  to  them  ;  and  the  relationship  of  a  church  was  re-estab- 
lished, and  this  relation  of  a  church  of  God  has  been  maintained 
even  to  this  day,  and  will  be  maintained  to  the  end  of  time. 


AND   HER   ACCtlSBBS.  163 

The  kind  reader  has  no  doubt  already  perceived,  from  the 
evidence  given,  that  the  church  of  God  is  composed  of  the 
true  worshii^ers  or  faithful  children  of  God.  The  church  was 
designed  to  embrace  under  her  privileges  and  favors,  all  who 
fear  God  and  walk  according  to  the  requirements  of  his  law, 
in  whatever  age  of  the  world  they  may  have  lived.  God 
chose  to  reveal  himself  to  his  people  in  different  ways  and  by 
different  means  (Heb.  1  :  1),  and  to  give  them  such  com- 
mandments and  laws,  and  require  of  them  the  performance 
of  such  duties  as  he,  in  his  infinite  love  and  wisdom,  had 
designed  for  their  happiness,  and  as  long  as  men  lived  in 
accordance  with  his  revealed  will,  they  were  acceptable  to  him 
and  he  performed  unto  them  his  promises.  Now  this  defines 
unto  us  exactly  what  the  church  is,  and  the  relation  in  which 
the  church  stands  with  God. 

Man  was  created  for  society.  God  saw  that  it  was  not 
good  for  him  to  be  alone,  and  this  is  true  with  reference  to  his 
moral  and  spiritual  relations,  as  well  as  his  natural  or  physical 
life.  To  govern  him  in  all  his  relations,  God  gave  him  wise 
and  good  laws.  But  as  the  life  and  the  happiness  of  the  soul 
is  far  superior  to  the  life  of  the  body,  so  the  laws  given 
to  man  for  his  spiritual  welfare,  are  of  much  greater  impor- 
tance than  those  which  govern  his  social  relations,  yet  he  who 
lives  in  accordance  with  the  laws  of  God,  given  for  his  spir- 
itual welfare,  must  not  disregard  the  less  important  ones,  given 
for  his  physical  and  social  welfare.  To  live  right  we  must 
have  respect  to  all  God's  laws,  whether  for  our  physical,  social 
or  spiritual  welfare.  Now  when  men  thus  fear  God  and  obey 
all  his  laws  and  commandments,  they  are  accepted  of  him. 
Acts  10  :  35  ;  Eccl.  12  :  13.  And  from  this  acceptance  comes 
the  relationship  of  the  church,  however  small  their  number 
may  be.  Thus  Adam  and  Eve  by  accepting  their  salvation, 
through  the  promises  of  God,  after  the  fall,  were  re-instated 
into  the  relationship  of  a  church,  though  they  were  but  two  in 
number.  The  Savior  declares  that  "  Where  two  or  three  are 
gathered  together  in  his  name  there  will  he  be  in  the  midst  of 


164  THE   MBNNONITE    CHURCH 

them."  Abel  became  a  member  of  this  church  and  so  did 
Enoch,  and  Noah,  and  Abraham,  and  Lot  and  the  whole  line 
of  patriarchs  and  prophets  in  the  succeeding  ages. 

God,  from  time  to  time,  revealed  himself  to  them,  gave 
them  such  instructions  and  laws  and  commandments  as  he 
deemed  necessary  ;  he  renewed  his  promises  to  them,  made 
covenants  with  them,  and  bestowed  blessings  upon  them  ; 
they  accepted,  loved,  feared,  honored  and  obeyed  him  ;  they 
were  his  people  and  he  was  their  God,  and  thus  they  stood  in 
the  relation  of  a  church.  This  is  just  what  the  Christian 
Church  is  admitted  to  be  at  the  present  day,  viz.,  "  a  number 
or  a  congregation  of  believers  in  Christ,  united  together  in  the 
order  of  the  gospel."  Those  living  before  Christ  were  under 
the  order  of  the  former  dispensation,  and  as  that  embraced 
what  God  required  of  them,  they  were  just  as  much  his  church, 
as  those  under  the  gospel,  though  they  may  not  have  been 
called  by  the  same  name.  It  is  not  the  name  that  makes  the 
church,  but  the  relation  men  sustain  to  God.  The  assertions 
of  Musser  that  there  was  no  church  of  God  before  Christ, 
because  God  did  not  call  his  people  a  church,  or  that  they 
were  not  his  children,  because  he  did  not  call  them  children, 
have  no  bearing  in  the  matter  whatever.  They  are  simply 
misapprehensions  of  his  word,  and  prove  nothing.  God 
speaks  of  those  under  the  former  dispensation  as  "his  people," 
"his  peculiar  people,"  "the  congregation  of  Israel,"  "the  con- 
gregation of  the  Lord,"  and  David  calls  them,  "the  great 
congregation,"  &c.  Stephen  calls  them  the  church  in  the 
wilderness.  The  Greek  word  from  which  the  word  church, 
in  this  passage,  is  translated  is,  ecclesia,  and  this  is  said,  by 
Greek  scholars,  to  be  the  word  that  is  translated  chicrch,  in  our 
English  translation  of  the  New  Testament.  The  same  word 
occurs  in  the  Greek  translation  of  the  Old  Testament  and  is 
translated  congregation  or  assembly.  In  the  German  trans- 
lation of  both  the  Old  and  New  Testaments,  the  word  given 
as  congregation  in  the  English  translation,  is,  we  believe, 


AND   fiER  ACCtrSERS.  IflS 

invariably  given,  Gemeine;  and  Gemeine,  in  German,  has 
the  same  signification  as  church  in  English. 

Now  if  the  word  ecclesia  is  used  in  Greek,  both  in  the 
Old  and  New  Testaments,  and  means  church  and  is  so  trans- 
lated in  the  New  Testament,  it  must  mean  the  same  thing  in 
the  Old  Testament.  This  would  clearly  establish  the  fact  that 
Musser's  assertion,  that  God  did  not  call  his  people  a  church, 
is  incorrect,  and  would  confirm  the  words  of  Stephen,  when  he 
(Acts  7  :  38)  calls  the  same  people,  tJie  church  in  the  wilder- 
ness. The  German  translation  of  the  Bible  gives  us  a  cor- 
roborative evidence  of  the  same  fact. 

As  a  further  proof  that  God  esteemed  his  "peculiar 
people"  and  believers  before  them,  as  his  church,  we  may 
refer  to  the  words  of  Paul  (Rom.  11),  where  he  speaks  of  the 
Jews  of  that  day  as  the  natural  branches  of  the  Olive  tree, 
which  branches  were  broken  off,  because  of  unbelief  ;  and  the 
Gentiles,  as  branches  of  the  wild  Olive  tree,  were  graffed  into 
the  good  Olive  tree.  This  good  Olive  tree  represents  the 
church  from  the  beginning,  grounded  and  rooted  in  God, 
"  built  upon  the  foundation  of  the  apostles  and  prophets,  Jesus 
Christ  himself  being  the  chief  corner  stone."  And  if  the  Gen- 
tiles were  graffed  into  the  good  Olive  tree,  that  is,  they  became 
part  of  this  first,  original  church,  then  this  first,  original 
church,  must  have  been  a  true  church,  and  so  considered 
before  the  Lord. 

Again,  those  of  the  household  of  faith  under  the  gospel, 
are  called,  "  the  children  of  Abraham  "  ( Gal.  3  :  1 — 9),  and 
are  said  to  be  blessed  with  him.  The  apostle  also  speaks  of 
the  blessing  of  Abraham  coming  "on  the  Gentiles  through 
Jesus  Christ,  that  we  might  receive  the  promise  of  the  Spirit 
through  faith."  Here  then  we  see  that  the  grace  and  salvation 
bestowed  upon  the  Gentiles  as  well  as  upon  the  Jewish 
believers,  are  called,  the  blessing  of  Abraham,  and  that  this 
came  through  Jesus  Christ.  Then  the  blessing  of  Abraham 
must  have  been  the  full  and  free  favor  of  the  gospel,  and 
hence  if  those  under  the  gospel  composed  a  church,  Abraham 


166  THB  MfiNNOKlTB   CHtJECS 

and  his  seed  must  have  constituted  a  part  of  the  same  church. 
In  Gal.  3  :  29  the  apostle  says,  "  If  ye  be  Christ's,  then  ye  are 
Abraham's  seed,  and  heirs  according  to  the  promise."  Where 
can  we  find  words,  or  evidences  to  establish  more  plainly  and 
indisputably  the  fact  that  the  church  of  God  did  exist  from 
the  beginning  of  time,  and  we  add,  the  church  militant  on 
earth,  being  gathered  into  the  church  triumphant  in  heaven, 
shall  endure  forever? 

As  confirming  the  foregoing  views  we  will  here  add  a  few 
extracts  from  the  writings  of  Henry  Funk,  to  whose  work  we 
have  already  referred  in  the  preceding  pages.  In  the  edition 
of  1763,  page  8,  he  says,  "  x\nd  in  this  manner,  the  dragon, 
the  old  serpent,  through  such  wise  and  learned  men,  has, /Vom 
the  beginning^  persecuted,  pursued  and  imprisoned,  and  with 
gallows,  fire,  water,  sword  and  various  instruments,  murdered 
and  killed  many  thousands  of  the  servants  and  children  of 
God,     See  Heb.  11:  36-38." 

On  page  11,  referring  to  the  penalties  which  Adam  had 
brought  upon  himself  and  his  posterity  by  his  transgression, 
he  writes  as  follows,  "  This  was  laid  upon  man  as  a  punish- 
ment from  God,  but  the  love  of  God  was  there  as  an  ameliora- 
tion of  the  punishment,  for  God  made  coats  of  skins  for  Adam 
and  Eve,  and  clothed  them  to  comfort  them  [and  as  a  token] 
that  he  would  again  clothe  them  with  the  robe  of  righteous- 
ness through  the  promised  Savior." 

On  page  14,  he  writes  further,  "Christ  was  promised,  again 
to  release  man  from  the  devil  and  the  sins  of  Adam  and  Eve, 
and  again  to  secure  unto  him  eternal  salvation.  Eph.  1  :  20  ; 
2  :  14  ;  Heb.  9  :  12.  To  this  redemption,  God  in  his  love, 
both  in  the  law  and  through  the  prophets,  gave  beautiful 
promises  and  types,  that  believers  should  be  changed  again 
after  the  linage  of  God,  with  heavenly  glory,  in  his  eternal 
kingdom." 

On  page  16  we  find  these  remarks,  "We  see  throughout 
how  that  believers  are  justified  through  Christ,  and  not  by 
their  own  merits  through  the  law.      Here  then   consider  the 


AND    HEK   ACCUSERS.  16Y 

matter  well  ;  our  first .  parents,  Adam  and  Eve,  were  clothed 
on  their  outward  person,  by  God  himself,  with  coats  of  skins  ; 
but  the  inner  man  was  clothed  loith  life,  holiness  and 
righteousness,  by  Jesus  Christ,  who  is  also  truly  God.  And 
when  the  Lord  Almighty,  the  Almighty  God  will  again  appear 
in  his  great  day,  then  he  will  change  (or  clothe  upon  with  his 
own  glory  and  heavenly  joy)  in  all  his,  both  the  inward  and 
the  outward  man,  in  one  body,  into  one."     Phil.  3  :  21. 

Again  on  page  lY,  we  read,  "Thus  we  see,  in  the  4th 
chapter  (Genesis),  26th  verse,  that  Seth  had  a  son  whose  name 
was  Enos  and  that,  in  that  time,  men  began  topreach*of  the  name 
of  the  Lord.  Of  what  Lord's  name  was  preached  is  sufficiently 
dent ;  that  is  they  preached  of  the  great  and  mighty  name  of 
the  Almighty  Lord  of  lords.  By  whom  this  preaching  of  the 
name  of  the  Lord  was  done  is  also  evident,  namely,  through 
the  Spirit  of  God,  as  we  may  see,  Gen.  6:3;  where  God 
laments  that  men  would  no  longer  hear  the  reproofs  of  his 
Spii-it.  Through  whom,  however,  did  the  Spirit  of  God 
preach  ?  Through  the  children  of  God  and  such  as  had 
found  grace  with  God  (Gen.  6  :  8),  but  what  they  preached 
of  the  name  of  the  Lord,  Moses  does  not  so  clearly  state, 
though  the  word  of  God  gives  it  plainly  enough  in  other  parts, 
namely,  that  men  should  fear  God,  love  him,  be  subject  and 
obedient  to  him,  according  to  the  word  which,  in  the  name  of 
the  Lord,  through  the  Spirit  of  God,  and  through  the  servants 
of  God,  was  spoken  ;  and  if  they  did  this,  it  should  be  loell 
with  them.  See  Leviticus  26  :  3  ;  Deut.  28  :  1.  But  if  men 
would  not  be  reproved,  nor  allow  themselves  to  be  governed 
by  the  Word  and  Spirit  of  God,  they  should  be  punished. 
Gen.  6:7;  Lev.  26  :  14  ;  Deut.  28  :  15.  Thus  we  may  also 
believe,  that  God  in  his  love,  in  the  days  of  Seth,  had  preached 
of  the  Lord  and  of  His  name,  through  His  Spirit,  that  men 
should  be  redeemed,  by  the  Lord,  from  death,  into  which  they, 

*  German  translation.  The  English  translation  says,  "Then 
began  men  to  call  upon  the  name  of  the  Lord."  But  our  author  here 
writes  in  accordance  with  the  idea  conveyed  in  the  German- 


168  THE   MENNONITE    CHUECH 


with  their  father  Adam,  had  fallen  ;  and  that  in  the  name  of 
the  Lord,  all  they  who  believed  it,  should  receive  forgiveness 
of  sins,  eternal  life  and  the  eternal  kingdom. 

On  page  19,  in  speaking  of  the  ark,  he  says,  "And  since 
the  window  was  in  the  upper  part  of  the  ark,  we  may  believe 
that  in  the  upper  part  of  the  ark  there  was  more  light  than  in 
the  middle  part,  and  in  the  middle  part  more  than  in  ihe 
lower  part.  Thus  as  the  Holy  Scriptures  show,  the  light  of 
the  Gospel  of  salvation,  through  Jesus  Christ,  so  full  of  com- 
fort, gave  light  to  the  first  from  the  beginning,  in  the 
preaching  of  ihe  name  of  the  Lord,  through  the  Spirit  of  God, 
and  those  who  believed  in  it,  obtained  grace  with  God,  as  Noah 
and  others  before  him." 

On  page  20,  he  further  says,  concerning  the  typical  repre- 
sentations of  the  ark,  "  Thus  it  is  the  will  of  God  that  all 
men  should  come  to  him,  into  the  ark  and  church  of  his  testa- 
ment, that  they  may  be  preserved  from  the  dreadful  destruction 
of  this  world,  and  as  the  ark  had  three  floors,  and  on  the  three 
floors  the  creatures  were  preserved,  so  God  in  the  three  periods 
of  the  world,  had  the  believers  of  His  church,  of  His  testa- 
ment, of  His  blood,  through  which  He  redeemed  them,  and 
these  will  He  also  preserve,  in  the  ark  of  His  church  from  the 
terrible  destruction  of  the  wicked." 

On  page  21  we  find  also  the  following  remarks.  "  Abra- 
liam  received  the  sign  of  circumcision  as  the  seal  of  the  right- 
eousness of  faith.  Thus  the  outward  circumcision  was  a  sign 
of  the  circumcision  of  the  heart,  by  which  Abraham  was  cir- 
cumcised, by  faith  in  obedience  to  God,  which  was  accounted 
to  him  for  righteousness.  Thus  Abraham  was  first  circumcised 
i^iwardly,  with  the  spiritual  circumcision  of  the  heart  in  the 
putting  away  of  sin,  and  for  this  purpose  came  Jesus,  to 
give  us  the  true  circumcision,  which  is  the  fulfillment  of  the 
circumcision  of  Abraham."  John  5:2.*  *  *  "  Abra- 
ham, the  father  of  the  faithful  had  two  circumcisions,  the 
circumcision  of  the  heart  by  faith,  and  the  circumcision  of 
the  flesh  in  his  body.      The  circumcision   of    the  heart  was 


ATStD   HER   ACCtJSERS.  169 

made  spiritually,  through  Christ."  Again  (page  22)  he  says, 
'*  With  what,  however,  shall  this  circumcision  be  made  ?  With 
the  knife  of  stone  of  the  Rock,  Jesus  Christ,  through  faith  in 
his  name,  through  which  the  purification  and  the  forgiveness 
of  sin  is  obtained.  In  this  manner  was  the  circumcision  of 
Abraham  from  the  Lord.'' 

We  will  leave  this  part  of  our  subject  here.  We  might 
say  much  more.  The  evidences  in  support  of  our  views,  and 
the  doctrines  we  maintain,  are  abundant,  and  we  have  by  no 
means  exhausted  them.  We  might  yet  produce  many  pas- 
sages from  Scripture,  to  which  our  limits  do  not' allow  even  an 
allusion,  while  Detrich  Philip,  Menno  Simon  and  other  writers, 
give  us  abundant  testimony,  to  which  we  have  only  made  a 
very  slight  reference.  The  whole  subject  has,  however,  we 
believe,  been  presented  in  such  a  manner,  that  the  impartial 
reader  will  be  able,  very  readily  to  discern  between  the  right 
and  the  wrong,  and  thus  decide  the  question  for  himself. 


22 


CHAPTER  XII. 

FURTHER    EXTRA.CTS    FROM    THE    WRITINGS    OF    DANIEL    MUSSER 

WITH    REMARKS — ACCOUNT    OF    THE    VISIT    OF    BENJAMIN 

AND    AMOS    HERR    TO     DANIEL     MUSSER,     &C. 

In  addition  to  the  extracts  given  from  the  writings  of 
Daniel  Mussor,  in  the  preceding  parts  of  this  work,  we  will 
here  further  present  to  the  consideration  of  the  reader  the  fol- 
lowing, a  portion  of  which  however,  has  already  been  given 
on  pages  18  and  19. 

On  page  283  of  his  work,  he  says,  "  The  carnal  works 
which  I  have  spoken  of  as  having  learned  by  tradition,  I  have 
from  so  many  sources,  and  from  such  authority,  that  I  cannot 
help  but  believe  it  to  be  true.  The  whole  church  and  the 
world  knew  of  their  existence,  and  yet  they  were  suffered  to 
exist  fi-oin  year  to  year,  for  sevei-al  generations.  The  carnal 
conduct  which  Kauffman,  Landis  and  Herr  speak  of,  was  well 
known  to  every  one  who  chose  to  acquaint  themselves  with  it ; 
yet  their  ministers  tolerated  them  as  members  and  admitted 
them  to  communion." 

On  page  284  he  says,  "The  truth  is,  there  was  no  evi- 
dence of  life  here,  amongst  either  teachers  or  lay-members. 
In  my  youth  I  was  considerably  amongst  them,  and  all  I  ever 
heard  was  light,  carnal  conversation  about  the  world  and 
worldly  things."  Further,  on  the  same  page,  he  says,  "  There 
are  yet  people  living  (and  of  their  own  members  too),  who 
know  that  drinking  to  excess,  revelry,  strife  and  envying  were 
very  common  amongst  members  of  the  church  ;  and  that  their 


AND    HEB  ACCUSEES.  l7l 

church  generally  (ministers  amongst  the  rest),  knew  it  and  no 
notice  was  taken  of  it." 

Again  on  page  284 — 5,  speaking  of  the  Old  Mennonite 
Church,  he  says,  "  I  freely  bear  testimony  to  the  moral  worth, 
good  citizenship,  kindness,  benevolence,  and  general  worthi- 
ness, of  many  of  their  members  ;  for  whom  I  have  a  very 
high  esteem,  and  would  on  no  account  wantonly  grieve  or 
wound  their  feelings.  And  why  should  they  be  grieved  ?  I 
conscientiously  believe  it  to  be  true^  and  if  I  am  in  error,  I 
beg  of  them  to  convince  me  by  the  word  of  God,  and  I  will 
freely  retract.  But  I  believe  it  my  duty  to  vindicate  the 
truth,  and  I  beg  of  every  one  to  divest  themselves  of  all  preju 
dice  and  partiality,  and  consider  the  matter  in  the  fear  of  the 
Lord.  /  have  made  no  assertion  lightly,  and  without  due 
consideration,  and  am  willing  to  bear  the  consequences.  *  * 
*  *  *  *  I  myself,  know  of  different  persons,  who  were  com- 
monly reported  at  the  time  as  addicted  to  drunkenness,  and 
also  seen  them  intoxicated.  Yet  they  toere  members  till 
their  death/  and  to  my  own  certain  knowledge,  their  habits 
were  well  known  to  the  preachers." 

We  have  given  these  extracts  here,  in  order  to  bring  them 
up  fresh  to  the  mind  of  the  reader,  so  that  he  may  be  better 
able  to  compare  them  with  that  which  follows  ;  and  to  show 
still  more  clearly,  how  little  truth  there  is  in  these  assertions 
and  accusations,  and  what  evidence  Daniel  Musser  had  to 
believe  them  as  true,  and  upon  what  grounds  he  was  willing 
to  bear  the  consequences  of  his  assertions  (and  we  hold  all 
equally  responsible  who  heard  the  manuscript  read  and  ap- 
proved of  it%  we  will  give  the  reader  an  account  of  a  visit 
which  Bishop  Benjamin  and  Preacher  Amos  Herr  made  to 
Daniel  Musser  and  the  interview  they  had  with  him. 

Daniel   Musser  had  sent  word  to  the  above  mentioned  . 
brethren  that  he  wished  to  see  them.     This  was  in  the  latter 
part  of  December  1876,  some  time  previous  to  his  death.     The 
brethren  went.     When  they  came  into  the  room  where  he  was, 


172  THB   MBNNONITB    CHTJECH 

he  received  them  in  a  very  friendly  manner,  and  said,  he  had 
been  looking  for  them  for  some  time. 

After  some  formal  conversation  he  said,  that  he  had 
heard,  that  they  accused  him  of  having  published  some  things 
in  his  book  which  were  not  true.*  They  replied,  that  they 
supposed  he  thought  they  were  true. 

He  then  began  to  tell  them  some  of  the  faults  of  the 
ehurch.  The  brethren  told  him,  they  had  not  come  to  have  a 
controversy,  but  to  pay  him  a  friendly  visit.  He  however 
continued  to  bring  charges  against,  and  find  fault  with  some  of 
the  members  of  their  church.  They  replied  to  him  that  their 
church  (that  is,  the  Old  Mennonite  Church)  always  had  short- 
coming members,  and  that  they  had  them  yet,  and  that  none 
of  us  wei-e  any  better  than  we  ought  to  be.  He  assented  that 
no  one  was. 

Friend  Musser  then  brought  a  charge  of  intemperance 
against  a  man  who  had  been  living  a  neighbor  to  both  of  the 
brethren,  and  whom  they  had  known  from  their  earliest  recol- 
lections. One  of  them  having  lived  on  the  adjoining  farm 
for  thirteen  years  and  had  continual  intercourse  with  him, 
exchanging  work  with  him  in  harvest,  and  at  other  times,  and 
though,  like  all  others  at  that  time,  he  would  take  his  drink, 
neither  of  them  had  ever  seen  him  intoxicated.  Since  then 
they  also  made  inquiries  of  a  man  who  was  raised  by  this 
brother,  whether  he  had  ever  seen  him  intoxicated.  He  said, 
"  Never.     But  he  would  take  a  drink  sometimes." 


*  One  of  these  ministers  (Amos  Herr),  a  short  time  before  D. 
Musser  sent  for  the  brethren,  in  a  conversation  with  John  Kohr,  the 
successor  of  D.  Musser,  in  the  offlce  of  bishop  of  the  Reformed  Men- 
nonite Church,  in  speaking  of  D.  Musser's  boolt,  said.  There  were 
many  things  in  that  boolt  that  were  not  correct.  Friend  Kohr 
replied,  that  D.  Musser  had  said  to  him,  that  he  was  surprised  that 
Amos  Herr  and  his  brother  did  not  know  that  what  he  wrote  in  his 
book  was  truc.f  Bro.  Herr  said.  They  knew  it  was  not  true.  Hence 
the  reason  that  D.  Musser  sent  for  them. 

f  In  a  letter  to  the  author,  Friend  Kohr  gives  this  expression  of 
D.  Musser's  very  different,  and  as  though  it  had  been  made  by 
D.  Musser  after  their  interview,  which  is  incorrect  and  so  admitted 
bv  Friend  Kohr. 


AND    HEB   ACCUSERS.  173 

Then  he  brought  another  charge  of  the  same  kind  against 
another  man,  who,  he  said,  was  a  member  of  our  church  and 
had  a  great  deal  to  say  about  him.  The  brethren  told  him 
that  this  man  had  been  expelled,  from  the  church  for  a  period 
of  at  least  twenty  years  jDrevious  to  his  death  (and  probably 
before  Daniel  Musser  came  to  Lancaster  County).  Musser 
replied  that  he  thought  the  man  had  been  a  member  up  to 
the  time  of  his  death,  and  would  hardly  be  convinced  that  it 
was  not  so,  for  he  had  been  told  by  some  one  that  the  man  did 
go  to  communion.  But  the  brethren  knew  that  their  asser- 
tions were  correct  and  that  his  expulsion  from  the  church  was 
a  positive  fact.  One  of  them  had  seen  him  in  a  condition 
that  was  not  becoming  to  a  member,  and  made  inquiries  of 
the  bishop  of  the  district  about  him  ;  and  the  bishop  himself 
told  him  that  he  was  not  a  member  and  had  been  expelled 
many  years  before.  Other  members  also,  living  at  this  time, 
know  this  to  be  a  fact. 

He  then  brought  a  third  charge  of  intemperance  against 
another  person,  which  was  correct  so  far  as  the  charge  of 
intemperance  was  concerned.  But  this  person  also  had  been 
expelled  from  the  church  and  stood  so  for  many  years.  After- 
wards he  reformed  and  made  application  to  be  again  received 
into  the  church,  but  was  suddenly  stricken  down  by  the  hand 
of  death  before  his  desire  was  accomplished. 

He  then  brought  another  charge  against  one  of  our  minis- 
ters, who  had  been  dead  some  years.  This  greatly  surprised 
the  brethren.  They  had  known  him  and  had  heard  him  preach 
from  their  earliest  recollections,  and  never  had  they  seen  or 
heard  anything  to  warrant  the  belief  that  he  was  intemperate. 
He  took  his  drink  like  all  others  in  those  days,  but  after  the 
most  diligent  inquiry,  not  one  person  could  be  found  who  knew 
of  him  having  been  intoxicated.  Both  these  brethren,  as  well 
as  Daniel  Musser  himself,  after  this  visit,  made  every  effort  to 
find  evidence  concenjing  his  intemperance,  but  neither  Musser 
nor  they  found  the  slightest  proof  that  he  had  ever  been 
intoxicated.     Some  of  those  men  of  whom  D.  Musser  made 


174  THE   MEJfSrOiaTE   CHUIICH 

inquiries  and  for  whom  he  had  sent  to  obtain  proof  of  the 
charge,  afterwards  spoke  to  the  Herr's  about  it ;  said,  they 
were  sui-prised  to  hear  the  charge,  and  told  D.  Musser  so ;  they 
had  never  heard  of  it  before.  This  was  the  same  minister 
whom  Musser,  in  his  book  (page  240),  charges  with  having 
voted  twice  at  the  same  election,  but  these  brethren  being  well 
acquainted  %vith  the  character  of  the  man,  and  having  at  hand 
the  strongest  and  most  irreproachable  testimojiy,  stand  ready 
to  prove  that  he  never  even  attended  an  election  during  the 
time  that  he  was  in  the  ministry.  They  challenged  Musser's 
friends  to  prove  the  assertion,  but  they  were  unable  to  bring 
the  slightest  evidence  of  the  truth  of  the  charge.  Some  of 
the  oldest  men  of  the  neighborhood,  some  eighty  and  ninety 
years  old,  do  not  know  of  him  ever  having  been  at  the  polls, 
after  he  had  been  ordained  to  the  ministry.* 

Musser  then  brought  a  charge  of  intemperance  against 
another  minister,  who,  upon  one  occasion  became  intoxicated. 
The  brethren  told  him,  they  knew  nothing  about  this  case. 
Musser  then  said  himself,  that  this  minister  was  expelled  and 
never  again  received  into  the  church.  We  also  have  other 
evidence  to  corroborate  the  fact  that  this  minister  was  promptly 
expelled  for  his  transgression,  but  as  Musser  himself  admitted 
it,  we  have  no  need  of  any  further  proof. 

Musser  also  charged  one  of  the  members  of  our  church 
with  having  taken  part  at  a  political  meeting.  The  brethren 
told  him,  if  he  had  done  so,  he  had  transgressed  the  rules  of 
Conference.  This  rule,  that  no  member  shall  take  part  at 
political  meetings,  is  an  established  rule  in  all  the  Conferences 
of  the  Old  Mennonite  Church  throughout  the  United  States, 
as  far  as  we  know,  and  has  been  for  a  long  time. 

Friend  Musser  also  related,  how  he  had  lived  with  his 
uncle  Twho  was  an  Old  Mennonite^  a  long  time,  and  had  never 


*  Hon.  John  Stiohm,  of  Lancaster  County,  now  in  his  eighty- 
sixth  year,  says.  He  knew  this  minister  iiersonally  since  1805,  and 
never  heard  of  him  having  been  at  the  election,  and  was  surprised 
at  the  charge.     He  also  never  heard  him  charged  with  intemperance. 


AND    HER  ACCUSERS.  175 

seen  his  uncle  pray,  except  the  silent  prayer  at  the  table  ;  from 
which  he  concluded  that  our  people  were  not  a  praying  people. 
The  brethren  told  him  that  our  members  were  taught  to  pray, 
not  pharisee-Iike,  in  public,  but  privately,  and  to  exercise 
themselves  in  secret  prayer,  both  before  retiring  and  upon 
rising  up. 

Several  other  members  were  also  charged  with  minor 
transgressions,  but  these  were  the  principal  points  tliat  were 
brought  up  in  the  conversation  of  the  brethren  with  Daniel 
Musser  at  this  interview,  though  some  other  conversation  of 
minor  inportance  passed  between  them,  which  however  it  is 
not  necessary  here  to  insert. 

One  of  the  brethren  then  said  to  D.  Musser,  "  And  with 
these  charges  and  accusations  you  condemn  the  whole  Menuo- 
nite  Church,  in  the  United  States  and  Canada,  and  hold  them 
dead  beyond  repentance?"  He  replied,  "Not  individually, 
but  as  a  body."  The  brethren  then  told  him,  that  they  had 
seen  a  number  of  the  oldest  ministers  from  the  different  locali- 
ties in  the  United  States  and  Canada,  and  made  it  a  point  to 
ask.  them,  if  ever  they  knew  or  heard  of  a  time  that  the  church 
was  as  represented  by  his  book.  They  all  said,  "Never,"  and 
were  surprised  that  any  person  should  make  such  a  charge. 
To  this  D.  Musser  replied,  that  he  "  guessed  they  were." 

The  brethren  then  said  to  D.  Musser,  If  they  would  pub- 
lish to  the  world  all  that  had  taken  place  in  the  Reformed 
Mennonite  Church,  since  its  organization,  not  of  hear-say,  but 
what  they  could  prove  as  facts,  what  a  chapter  it  would  make  ! 
To  this  he  made  no  reply. 

The  brethren  then  told  him  they  wished  him  all  that  they 
wished  themselves,  and  as  they  bid  him  "Farewell,"  they  re- 
marked, "The  Old  Year  has  almost  passed  away,  and  Oh,  that 
with  it  all  evil  surmisings  and  uncharitableness  might  pass  away, 
and  as  the  New  Year  is  ushered  in,  love,  charity,  peace  and 
newness  of  life  might  dwell  in  all  our  hearts."  D.  Musser 
replied,    "  No  man  living,  wishes  it  more  than  I  do."     One  of 


176  THE   MENNONITE    CHITRCH 

the  deacons  of  the  Reformed  Mennonite  Church  was  present 
during  the  interview  and  heard  all  that  was  said. 

The  reader  will  observe  that  in  the  quotations  given  from 
Musser's  wi-itings,  no  names  are  mentioned  in  connection  with 
the  charges  made,  neither  does  he  mention  any  names  any- 
where in  the  book  in  connection  with  the  accusations  which 
he  brings  against  the  church  ;  but  at  this  interview  with  the 
brethren,  he  mentioned  the  names  of  the  persons  to  whom  he 
had  reference,  and  from  whose  actions  he  drew  his  conclusions 
as  given  in  the  book.  Had  the  brethren  not  visited  him  and 
learned  from  his  own  lips  the  names  of  the  persons  thus 
referred  to,  it  would  no  doubt  have  remained  a  mystery  which 
we  should  never  have  been  able  to  clear  up.  But  now,  that 
the  names  of  the  persons  have  been  made  known  to  the 
brethren,  we  find  that  of  the  five  charges  of  intemperance, 
which  he  produced,  three  were  persons  who  had  once  been 
members,  but  were  expelled,  and  never  again  received  back, 
while  the  other  two  were  men  of  such  unblamable  character 
that  we  most  unhesitatingly  challenge  them  to  produce  a 
single  shadow  of  evidence  in  proof  of  their  accusations. 

In  reference  to  the  minister  against  whom  Musser  brings 
the  charge  of  intemperance  and  of  voting  twice  at  the  same 
election,  his  mind  was  evidently  disturbed  a  good  deal,  after 
the  brethren  had  visited  him.     The  following  week  another  of 

our  brethren  (Bro.  L j,  visited  Doctor  Musser  (as  he   was 

familiarly  called,  being  a  physician  by  profession),  and  in  a 

friendly  conversation  he  asked  Bro.   L whether  he  was 

acquainted  with  this  minister.     "  O  yes,  very  well,"  said  Bro. 

L ;    "he   was   often  at  my  father's  house."     Dr.   Musser 

then  asked  the  brother  whether  he  had  ever  heard  of  him  as 

drinking  too  much.     "Ey!"  answered  Bro.  L (they  were 

conversing  together  in  the  Pennsylvania  dialect),  "Ich  hab  my 
Lebe  noch  nicks  so  g'hoert. — Ich  hab  g'meent  er  is  so  een 
feiner  Mann  g'west."  "  Why,  I  never  in  my  life  heard  any 
such  thing.  I  always  thought  he  was  such  a  fine  man."  To 
this  Musser  replied,   "  Ey,  des  is  was  die  Herre  aw  g'saat  hen  ; 


AND    HEK    ACCUSERS,  177 

des  kommt  mir  f  re  nun  voi\  Der  Mann  der  rair's  g'saat  hot, 
hot  g'saat  er  het  ihn  oft  so  g'sehne."  "  Why,  this  is  what  the 
Herr's  said,  too ;  this  seems  strange  to  me.  The  man  who  told 
me,  said  he  had  often  seen  him  in  this  condition."  * 

How  sad  it  seems  that  any  one  shoukl  make  such  grave 
charges  against  his  fellow-man  upon  such  uncertain  and  incor- 
rect evidences,  as  we  have  seen  that  Friend  Musser  has  done, 
and  that  he  should  venture,  upon  these  evidences,  to  make  the 
remarks,  that  he  "conscientiously  believes  them  to  be  true  ;" 
"  that  he  cannot  help  to  believe  it  to  be  true  ;"  that  he  knows 
them  to  be  true,  and  that  he  is  "  willing  to  bear  the  conse- 
quences." We  feel  to  pray,  "  Lord,  lay  not  this  sin  to  their 
charge,"  and  "  Father,  forgive  them,  for  they  know  not  what 
they  do." 

Daniel  Musser  also  made  the  expression   to  Bro.  L , 

"  Und  sel  Buch — ich  hab's  net  schreibe  wolle  ;  aber  die  Brue- 
der  hen  mir  ka  Ruh'  g'lust  t)i8  ich's  g'schriebe  hab."  "  And 
that  book — I  did  not  want  to  write  it,  but  the  brethren  would 
not  let  me  rest  until  I  wrote  it." 

Friend  John  Kohr,  to  whom  reference  has  already  been 
made,  on  a  preceding  page,  in  a  letter  to  the  author,  written 
in  October  1877,  severely  criticises  our  remarks  on  the  forego- 
ing expression,  as  given  in  our  article,  published  in  the  Herald 
of  Truth,  September  1877,  and  denies  it  as  altogether  improba- 
ble and  untrue.  We  are  free  to  acknowledge  that  our  infor- 
mation at  that  time,  in  the  form  of  the  expression,  was  not 
altogether  correct,  and  whenever  we  are  made  conscious  of  any 
error  that  we  have  made,  we  are  willing  to  correct  it.     We  do 


*  In  our  account  of  this  conversation  between  D.  Musser  and 

Bro-  L ,  as  given  in  the  Herald  of  Truth,  the  expressions  which 

passed  between  them  were  not  given  quite  correctly.  To  avoid  any 
further  mistakes  or  misconstruction,  we  give  them  here  in  the  origi- 
nal language  in  which  they  were  spoken.  We  had  also  erroneously 
said  that  this  charge  had  been  made  against  a  bishop  We  should 
have  said,  minister^  as  given  in  these  pages.  Musser  named  this  minis- 
ter to  the  brethren  Herr,  and  charged  him  with  intemperance  and 
voting  twice  at  the  same  election.     He  also  named  the  minister  to 

Bro.  L . 

23 


178  THE    MBNNONITE    CHURCH 

not  wish  to  do  any  one  the  remotest  injustice,  or  to  make  the 
slightest  misrepresentation  ;  but  after  all,  the  substance  of  the 
expression  as  presented  in  tbat  article,  was  substantially  the 
same  as  that  given  here.  The  expression  that  he  was  told,  that 
he  had  better  never  written  tliat  book,  was,  as  it  seems,  incor- 
rect, and  it  now  appears,  that  without  any  reproof  or  prompt- 
ing by  the  brother  who  visited  him,  he  voluntarily  and  of  his 
own  accord,  said,  that  he  did  not  want  to  write  the  book, 
which  makes  it  all  the  more  forcible  and  gives  us  only  a 
clearer  evidence  of  the  feelings  of  his  mind. 

Friend  Kohr  also  claims  that  Daniel  Musser  was  not  per- 
suaded to  write  the  book,  but  that  it  was  his  own  free  and 
voluntary  work,  and  says  in  his  letter,  "  That  if  any  man  will 
read  his  (Musser's)  book,  he  will  clearly  see  that  1).  Musser 
has  written  his  own  sentiments  and  not  the  sentiments  of 
others."  That  he  did  not  write  his  own  sentiments,  we  never 
questioned  or  asserted,  but  we  cannot  help  remarking  here, 
that  while  Friend  Kohr  claims  that  D.  Musser  here  wrote  his 
own  sentiments,  and  not  the  sentiments  of  others,  he  also 
positively  asserts  that  he  having  read  D.  Musser's  manuscript, 
before  it  was  printed,  "  approved  of  it  "  and  does  so  yet ;  and 
says,  that  as  far  as  he  knows,  every  one  (that  means  we  sup- 
pose every  one  in  his  church),  "looks  upon  it  as  containing 
sound  gospel  doctrine,  and  believes  it  to  be  a  very  useful 
book."  He  also  makes  the  assertion  that  any  member  of  his 
church,  who  would  reject  the  doctrines  contained  in  the  book, 
would  be  rejecting  sound  gospel  doctrine  and  that  would 
expel  him  from  the  church.  Here  it  would  seem  after  all  as 
though  Friend  Kohi-  was  trying  to  make  it  appear  that  the  sen- 
timents, written  by  Daniel  Musser,  were  the  sentiments  of  the 
church,  and  that  the  church  would  restrict  all  her  membership 
to  the  doctrines  contained  in  the  book,  and  this,  we  have  no 
doubt  is  the  case.  Consequently,  had  even  Daniel  Musser,  as 
a  member  of  the  church,  though  a  prominent  man  and  a 
bishop,  entertained  and  written  a  different  doctrine,  he,  accord^ 
ing  to  the  sentiments  of  Friend  Kohr,  would  have  subjected 


AND    HER   ACCUSERS.  lT9 

himself  to  expulsion  and  the  ban.  With  this  view  of  the 
subject,  who,  after  all,  can  positively  say  that  Daniel  Musser 
did  write  his  own  sentiments  and  not  the  sentiments  of  others? 
Besides  we  have  positive  evidence  that  the  manuscripts  of  D. 
Musser's  book  were  read  before  the  church,  before  being 
printed,  which  confirm  our  views  as  given  above,  and  thus, 
after  all,  whatever  his  own  sentiments  may  have  been,  he  could 
only  write  what  the  church  would  approve.  And  in  this  very 
thing  we  hold  that  the  Reformed  Church  exercises  an  un- 
scri])tural  sovereignty  or  dominion  over  her  membership 
which  the  apostle  condemns  (l  Pet.  5  :  3),  where  he  admon- 
ishes the  Elders  not  to  be  "lords  over  God's  heritage,  but 
ensamples  to  the  flock."  The  gospel  rule  is  love,  not 
human  authority,  or  compulsion.  The  service  of  the  Lord  is 
a  voluntary  service  and  not  a  servile  bondage,  and  if  the 
Reformed  Muiinonite  Church  is  able  to  hold  her  entire  mem- 
bership under  the  belief  that  all  that  is  written  in  Daniel 
Musser's  book  is  true,  and  sound  gospel  doctrine,  whether  she 
does  it  by  gaining  the  voluntary  assent  of  her  people  through 
her  teachings,  or  by  fear  of  church  censure  and  the  ban,  she 
shows  herself  in  a  far  more  deplorable  and  a  far  less  hopeful 
condition  than  we  have  imagined. 

When  we  further  take  into  consideration  the  fact  that 
Daniel  Musser  made  such  diligent  inquiry  concerning  the 
character  of  some  of  the  men  to  whom  he  had  reference  in 

the  statements  made  in  his  book,  not  only  of  Bro.  L ,  but 

also  of  others,  which  fact  John  Kohr,  in  the  letter  referred  to 
above,  himself  admits,  it  appears  very  evident  that  his  mind 
was  more  or  less  exercised  in  reference  to  the  matter,  and  that 
after  all,  he  wished  to  have  some  more  substantial  evidence  to 
satisfy  himself,  and  when  he  found  none,  it  is  only  reasonable 
to  suppose,  if  he  was  sincere  and  conscientious,  that  it  would 
cause  him  still  more  disquietude  of  mind,  and  when  we  take 

the  positive  evidence  of  Bro.  L ,  to  the  fact  that  he  did 

voluntarily  say,  he  did  not  want  to  write  the  book  but  was 
purstiaded  to  the  undertaking  by  his  brethren,  it  shows  itself 


180  tSE   MENNONITB    CHUBCH 

only  the  more  incontrovertibly  that  his  mind  was  not  fully  at 
ease  about  the  matter. 

If  there  should  be  any  doubt  concerning  the  testimony  of 

Bro.  L ,  or  if  in  any  way  his  testimony  shonld  be  disputed 

or  looked  upon  as  improbable  (which  indeed  is  the  case,  as  we 
have  above  seen  from  Friend  Kohr's  letter),  then  we  would 
simply  refer  the  reader  to  D.  Musser's  own  words,  as  given  in 
the  2)reface  of  his  book,  where  lie  no  doxibt  (if  the  work, 
according  to  the  claims  of  Kohr,  is  the  free  and  voluntary 
production  of  his  own  mind),  writes  the  true  sentiments  of  his 
heart,  and  says  almost  identically,  if  not  in  words,  yet  in  sub- 
stance, the  same  thing.  Here  ai-e  his  words  :  "  The  idea  of 
such  an  undertaking  never  occurred  to  me,  until  it  was  sug- 
gested to  me  by  others,  to  whose  solicitations  I  was  induced 
to  accede."  "  This  desire  seemed  so  reasonable,  and  I  may 
say,  commendable,  that  I  felt  myself  constrained  to  endeavor 
to  gratify  it  to  the  extent  of  my  ability." 

Here  he  confesses  that  the  idea  of  writing  the  book  never 
entered  his  mind  until  it  was  suggested  to  him  by  others,  and 
then  it  was  only  upon  their  solicitations,  their  desire,  that  he 
was  induced  to  accede  to  their  wishes. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

SELF-EXALTATION — EXTEACTS    PROM    BISHOP  CHRISTIAN    HERr's 
(pEQUEA)    letter    to    JOHN    HERR,    &C. 

''For  whosoever  cxalteth  himself,  shall  be  abased,  and  he  that 
hurableth  himself  shall  be  exalted."    Luke  14  :  11. 

"Be  not  high-minded,  but  fear."     Rom.  11  :  20. 

"Let  him  that  thinketh  he  standeth  take  heed  lest  he  fall." 
1  Cor.  10:  12. 

"For  I  say  unto  you,  to  every  man  that  is  among  you,  not  to 
think  of  himself  more  highly  than  he  ought  to  think  ;  but  to  think 
soberly,  according  as  God  hath  dealt  to  every  man  the  measure  of 
faith."     Rom.  12  :  3. 

Of  the  various  forms  in  which  pride  manifests  itself,  that 
of  self-exaltation,  that  through  which  a  man  lifts  himself  up 
in  his  own  opinion,  through  which  he  is  led  to  esteem  himself 
better  than  others,  and  to  assume  for  himself  a  position, 
powers,  virtues,  gifts,  favors  and  prerogatives  above  his  fellows, 
and  to  boast  of  them  while  he  despises  others — is  one  of  the 
worst  in  its  manifestations  and  the  most  difficult  to  eradicate. 
This  spirit  manifested  itself  very  pointedlly  in  the  con- 
duct of  the  Jewish  leaders,  the  Scribes  and  Pharisees.  They 
esteemed  themselves  righteous  above  others  ;  they  were  full  of 
pride  and  self-conceit ;  they  boasted  that  they  were  Abraham's 
seed,  children  of  the  promise,  heirs  of  the  kingdom  and  never 
in  bondage  to  any  man  ;  they  thought  themselves  a  great  deal 
better  than  the  publicans,  the  Samaritans  or  others  who  were 
not  of  their  nation,  caste,  or  sect,  and  they  could  have  no  deal- 
ings and  no  intercourse  with  them,  as  is  shown  very  plainly  from 


182  THE    MENNONITE    CHURCS 

the  prayer  of  the  Pharisee  in  the  Temple,  Luke  18  :  10-14  ;  in  the 
accusation  brought  against  the  Savior,  that  he  was  the  "friend 
of  publicans  and  sinners,"  Matt.  11:  19;  in  the  charge  that 
he  received  sinners  and  sat  down  with  them  to  meat,  Luke 
19  :  1  ;  15  :  2  ;  Matt.  9  :  10  ;  Mark  2  :  15,  and  in  his  conversa- 
tion with  the  woman  of  Samaria,  Jn.  4  :  9.  They  tliemselves 
could  have  no  dealings  with  these  classes,  and  if  any  one 
sliould  go  so  far  as  to  have  intercourse,  or  associate  with  them, 
lie  was  condemned  as  one  unfit  for  their  society  and  excluded 
from  their  communion. 

Jesus  however  reproves  this  spirit  of  self-righteousness 
and  self-exaltation  in  the  severest  terms,  and  regardless  of 
tlieir  traditions,  he  did  eat  with  publicans  and  sinners  at  com- 
mon meals,  but  observed  the  Passover  with  his  disciples  only. 
He  knew  the  law  and  observed  it.  Please  read  the  twelfth 
chapter  of  Deuteronomy.  He  declai-es  that  the  publican, 
who  appeared  so  mean  and  unworthy  in  the  eyes  of  the  proud 
Pharisee,  in  the  temple,  "went  down  to  his  house  justified 
rather  than  the  othei-,"  and  many  others  whom  the  Scribes 
and  Pharisees  despised  and  looked  upon  as  unworthy,  received 
the  highest  favors  and  the  most  comforting  approbation  of 
our  Savior's  love  toward  a  fallen  and  sinful  race,  because 
they  humbled  themselves  before  him,  believed  in  his  name, 
accei)led  the  teachings  of  his  word,  and  became  his  faithful 
followers. 

These  self-righteous  Scribes  and  Pharisees,  however,  gave 
way  more  and  more  to  their  prejudices,  the  fi'uit  of  self  con- 
ceit and  self-righteousness;  and  these  prejudices  developing 
themselves  in  hatred,  their  hatred  soon  manifested  itself  in 
acts  of  open  violence,  and  they  soixght  to  lay  hands  on  Jesus, 
to  stone  him,  and  finally,  when  his  hour  was  come,  they  took 
him,  condemned  him  and  crucified  him,  and  herein  we  see  the 
great  danger  to  which,  those  who  give  way  to  this  spirit  of 
self-exaltation,  self-righteousness,  and  condemning  others,  ex- 
pose themselves. 

In  the  earlier  ages  of  Christianity,  this  spirit  of  pride  and 


AND    HER    ACCUSERS.  183 


self-exaltation  developed  itself  in  a  different  form  from  that  of 
the  present  day.  When  men  fell  into  the  delusion  that  they 
alone  were  right,  and  all  others  were  wrong,  that  all  who  did 
not  agree  with  them,  were  the  enemies  of  God  and  conse- 
quently their  enemies,  they  permitted  their  prejudices  to  over- 
rule their  reason  and  resorted  to  acts  of  violence,  and  sought 
not  only  to  set  tliemselves  above  others  in  their  self-conceit 
and  self-righteousness,  but  also  pursued,  and  with  prison  and 
torture,  with  fire  and  sword  and  other  means,  persecuted  and 
put  to  death  those  who,  in  accordance  with  the  teachings  of  the 
Savio|^  sought  to  worship  God  in  "  spirit  and  in  truth,"  though 
it  was  in  the  way,  which  according  to  the  words  of  Paul, 
'■'•they  called  heresy."' 

This  spirit  manifested  itself  continually,  all  along  down 
through  the  history  of  the  church  and  raged  with  fearful  vio- 
lence for  many  centuries,  during  which  the  faithful  followers 
of  Jesus  were  compelled  to  suffer  the  most  indescribable  hor- 
rors, trials  and  bodily  afflictions,  and  thousands  upon  tliousands 
were  cruelly  slain,  and  suffered  the  most  agonizing  deaths, 
because  they  would  not  deny  their  faith  in  Christ,  nor  fall 
down  to  worship  the  idols  which  their  self-righteous  and  delu- 
ded persecutors  liad  set  up,  and  thus  was  literally  fulfilled  what 
the  Savior  declared  to  His  disciples,  when  he  said,  Jn.  16  : 
2-3,  "The  time  cometh  that  whosoever  killeth  you  will  tliink 
that  he  doeth  God  service,  and  these  things  they  will  do  unto 
you,  because  they  have  not  known  the  Father  nor  me." 

In  more  modern  times,  however,  as  we  have  before  stated, 
this  spirit  has  assumed  a  different  form  of  development,  espe- 
cially in  our  own  country,  and  among  those  with  whom  we,  at 
this  time  have  more  directly  to  do.  Though  we  still  occasion- 
ally hear  from  other  portions  of  the  world,  that  there  are 
localities,  where  the  gospel  cannot  be  preached  in  its  purity 
without  restraint,  and  where  men  for  the  sake  of  religion,  are 
yet  at  this  day,  compelled  to  suffer  imprisonment,  banishment 
and  other  forms  of  persecution. 

The  most  pron^inent  form,  however,  in  which  thig  spirit  of 


184  THE    MENNONITK    CHURCU 

self-righteousnesa  and  self-exaltation  develops  itself,  is,  in 
orii^inaliiig  and  multiplying  sects,  each  claiming  that  they  are 
the  onjy  true  church  of  God,  that  all  others  are  in  error,  and 
that  they  alone  are  right,  and  this  has  been  the  source  of  a 
great  deal  of  wrong.  Thereby  divisions  have  been  caused, 
controversy  has  been  awakened,  bitter  feelings,  variance,  strife, 
envy,  hatred,  false  accusations,  misrepresentations  of  character 
and  doctrine,  evil  surmising  and  malignings,  unjust  condem- 
nations and  judgments  have  been  passed,  in  direct  opposition 
to  the  teachings  of  Christ,  for  He  commands  His  followers 
that  they  should  not  judge,  that  they  may  not  be  judged, 
neither  condemn,  that  they  may  not  be  condemned.  Matt.  7  : 
1;  Luke  G :  37.  He  also  declares  that,  "Whoso  shall  offend 
one  of  these  little  ones  which  believe  in  me,  it  were  better  for 
him,  that  a  millstone  were  hanged  about  his  neck,  and  that  he 
were  drowned  in  the  depths  of  the  sea."     Matt.  18  :  6-7. 

Of  this  oi'iginatjng  and  multiplying  of  sects  and  the 
development  of  this  spirit  of  self-righteousness  and  self-exal- 
tation, we  have,  in  our  day,  a  number  of  striking  examples, 
one  of  the  most  prominent  of  which,  it  appears  to  us,  is  the 
Reformed  Mennonite  Church,  which  foi-ms  the  principal  sub- 
ject of  this  work,  and  with  whose  history,  characteristics  and 
claims,  the  reader  has,  already,  to  a  large  extent  become 
acquainted.  How  this  spirit  of  self-exaltation,  has  especially 
manifested  itself  among  this  sect,  and  in  what  light  the  minis- 
ters of  that  day  considered  it,  is  further  illustrated  by  the 
following  extracts  from  the  letter  written  by  Bish.  Christian 
Herr  (Pequea),  to  John  Herr,  to  which  reference  has  already 
been  made  in  a  former  part  of  this  work. 

EXTRACT  FKOM  CHRISTIAISr  HERr's  LETTER  TO  JOHN  HERR. 

"With  these  two  passages  last  quoted  from  the  fifth  chap 
ter  of  your  book  you  go  on  as  though  you  had  prov(ul  that  the 
Mennonite  Church  was  given  to  all  these  terrible  sins  and 
abominations,  as  shown  in  the  passages  previously  referred  to, 
and  as  though  they  suffered  all  these  things  without  reproof, 


And  tiER  AccttsERs.  l65 


and  thus,  as  already  said,  it  is  very  evident  that  you  do  not 
abide  in  the  truth.  You  wish,  however,  to  appeal  to  their 
works,  and  thus  set  up  yourself  as  a  judge  over  the  Menuo- 
nite  Church,  and  thus,  as  it  were,  prescribe  for  the  administra- 
tors of  civil  law,  how  they  shall  hold  this  disgraceful  fornica- 
tress (to  which  you  compare  her).  Alas  to  what  may  not  this 
fiery  zeal  and  hurtful  party-spirit  lead  a  poor  worm  of  the 
earth." 

"  On  page  242,  you  call  the  ministers  of  the  Old  Menno- 
nite  Church  '  Deceivers,'  because  they  endeavor  with  subtlety  to 
corrupt  the  Scriptures,  for  the  purpose  of  defending  their 
carnal  church.  On  page  241,  you  say,  'Thus  also  here,  when 
truly  faithful  and  God-seeking  souls  are  in  this,  or  any  other 
impure  church,' &c,,  and  on  pages  194  and  195  you  say,  'O 
God,  is  it  not  a  mournful  error  that  we  find  so  few  in  our  time 
who  are  not  guilty  of  spiritual  fornication,  for  where  among 
all  parties  and  sects  do  we  find  a  church  that  is  not  taught  of 
the  woman  Jezebel  to  commit  fornication  and  eat  things  offered 
to  idols  ?  Where  do  we  find  those  who  do  not  worship  the 
image  of  anti-Christ  ?  Where  do  we  find  the  true,  faithful 
shepherds  who  go  in  at  the  door  ?  Where  are  those  to  whom 
the  porter,  or  the  Holy  Spirit  hath  opened,  that  they  may  call 
the  sheep  and  lead  them  from  all  strange  worship  and  sinful 
idolatry,  that  the  sheep  know  his  voice' alone  and  follow  him, 
and  that  they  will  not  follow  the  false  spirits,  but  flee  from 
them,  because  tliey  know  not  the  voice  of  strangers  ?  '  Then 
you  go  on  and  say,  '  I  for  my  part,  could  not  find  any  such 
who  were  free  from  spiritual  fornication,  for  the  injurious 
spirit  of  freedom  (non-restraint  in  matters  of  religion),  has 
taken  hold  of  all  of  them,  so  that  they  can  all  teach  one  with 
another  out  of  dissembling  hearts,  and  go  on  together  in  their 
hypocrisy,  that  they  may  be  able  to  cast  aside  the  cross  of 
Christ  and  maintain  the  honor  of  men,  and  thus  they  have  all 
drunken  from  the  enchanting  cup  of  the  Babylonian  wliore."' 

"Now,  please  compare  for  yourself  the  last  four  quoted 
passages  from  your  book,  with  the  words  of  the  apostle  Peter, 
24 


186  THE   MENNONITE   CHUECH 

Acts  10:  15,  'And  the  voice  spake  unto  him  again  the  second 
time,  what  God  has  cleansed  that  call  not  thou  common,'  and 
this  was  done  three  times.  He  also  says  further,  'God  has 
showed  me  that  I  should  not  call  any  man  common  or  unclean,' 
(Acts  10  :  28),  but  you  do  not  fear,  not  only  to  call  one  man 
unclean,  but  all  the  churches  who  do  not  agree  with  you,  you 
not  only  call  unclean,  but  under  all  parties,  you  say,  '  Where 
do  we  find  one  church  that  is  not  taught  of  the  woman  Jezebel 
to  commit, fornication  and  eat  things  oflFered  to  idols.'  O  my 
friend,  I  fear  it  may  yet  be  hard  for  you  to  kick  against  the 
pricks,  for  Jesus  says  (Matt,  18),  'See  that  ye  despise  not  one 
of  these  little  ones,  for  I  say  unto  you,  that  in  heaven  their 
angels  do  always  behold  the  face  of  my  Father  which  is  in 
heaven.'  The  prophet  Elias  also  thought  that  among  the 
prophets  he  alone  was  left,  but  what  saith  the  answer  of  God 
unto  him,  'I  have  reserved  to  myself  seven  thousand  men  who 
have  not  bowed  the  knee  to  Baal.'  Rom.  11:4.  Now  if  the 
great  Prophet  Elias,  could  thus  be  mistaken  in  his  view,  you 
also  should,  at  least  think,  that  you  too  might  err  in  your  zeal  ; 
and  as  the  Lord  in  the  idolatrous  time,  knew  how  to  preserve 
seven  thousand  men  in  Israel,  so  in  our  time,  the  Lord,  no 
doubt,  will  know  to  preserve  thousands  of  little  ones,  without 
your  knowledge,  whose  angels  always  behold  the  face  of  their 
Heavenly  Father,  though  you  place  them  under  Babel,  because 
they  are  not  willing  to  leave  their  church  and  join  your  sect." 
"You  write  further,  'I  am  willing  to  appear  before  you 
and  your  entire  church,  and  to  place  the  doctrines  which  I  have 
taught  to  the  present  time,  into  the  balance  of  the  word  of 
God,  &c.'  This  sounds  boldly,  but  singular.  Who  ever  asked 
you  to  do  this?  as  any  one  who  reads  your  book  may  readily 
examine  your  teachings  and  doctrines.  You  are  willing  to 
appear  before  me  and  my  entire  church  ;  how  strange  !  Where 
have  I  in  my  life  time  ever  attempted  to  build  up  a  church, 
separate  from  all  others,  and  to  place,  or  permit  myself  to  be 
placed  before  her  as  her  leader?  The  Mennonite  Church, 
which  in  great  poverty  and   weakness,  by  the  help  of  God,  I 


AND    HER    ACCUSERS.  187 


seek  to  serve,  had  an  existence,  long  before  you  and  I,  poor 
worms  of  the  dust,  were  born,  and  her  doctrines  and   confess- 
ion of  faitli,  accordinLC  to  the  Martyr's  Mirror,  had  its   origin, 
in  the  time  of  the  aposth's  and  in   their  teachings,    and   there 
were  also,  according  to  tlie  testimony  of  said  book  of  martyrs, 
from  century  to  century,   those  who   sought  to  govern   their 
lives  and  conduct  in  accordance  therewith,  though  it  may  have 
been  in  weakness.     There  were  also  those  who,  from  century 
to  century,  sealed  with  their  blood,  the  doctrines  and  teachings 
above   referred  to,  although  these   followers    of  Christ,   who 
held  to  the  doctrine  of  baptism  on  faith,  did  not  all  administer 
the  outward  rite   of  baptism  alike,    and  were   not  altogether 
alike  in  some  of  their  other  outward  requirements,   they  were, 
notwithstanding  united  and  the  same  in  the  chief  articles,  as 
in  true  repentance  to  God,  faith  in  Jesus  Christ,  and  in  truly 
following  in  his  footsteps,  and   this    same  fact  both  Menno 
Simon  and  Detrich  Philip  also  found  in  their  time,  and  united 
with  them,  and  by  the  grace  and  help  of  God,  became  instru- 
ments of  great  good  to  the  up-building  and  progress  of  the 
Church  of  Christ,  and  have  left  us  their  writings,   so  full  of 
instruction  ;  and  every  impartial  person,  who,  by  reading  their 
works,  or  the  writings  of  others,  has  become  conversant   with 
the  times  and  the  government  under  which  these  godly  men 
lived,  will  no  doubt  be  led  to  believe  that  they  had  great  reason 
to  shun  the  ruling  churches  in   their  day,  and  also  to  write 
against  them  as  they  did,  inasmuch  as  the  Pope  and  the  ruling 
churches  were  the  chief  instigators,  through   whom  the  gov- 
ernment was  incited,   with   fire,  water,  sword   and  gibbet,  to 
destroy   the  lives  of  the  true  followers  of  Christ,  by   multi- 
tudes. 

"And  since  the  doctrine  and  confession  of  faith  above 
referred  to,  has  been  maintained  during  so  many  centuries  and 
through  so  many  changes  of  time  until  the  present,  and  since 
also  those  have  remained,  who,  though  in  weakness,  have 
sought  to  order  their  lives  and  walk  in  accordance  therewith, 
therefore  I  also  believe  with  Petrich  Philip  as  he  writes  in  his 


188  THE    MKNNONITK    CHUUCH 

Spiritual  Restitution,  'Thus  also  will  this  other  spiritual  temple 
and  holy  city  of  Jerusalem,  remain  until  the  coming  and  rev- 
elation of  our  Lord  Jesus  Chi-ist.'  That  there  are,  however, 
weak,  sickly,  and  slumbering  members  in  the  Mennonite  Church, 
even  as  there  were  in  the  Corinthian  Church,  while  it  was  yet 
under  the  care  of  Paul,  no  Mennonite  of  experience  will  deny, 
and  if  you  did  not  also  have  such  in  your  church,  we  would 
have  to  conclude  that  you  with  your  church,  were  in  advance, 
even  of  the  apostle  Paul  with  the  Corinthian  Church. 

"In  the  preface  of  your  first  book,  you  say,  'Fifthly,  I 
have  shown,  briefly,  why  we  have  separated  ourselves  from  the 
Mennonite  Church,  and  why  we  will  not  liear  them,  but  on  the 
other  hand  we  say  openly  that  we  did  not  leave  the  true  Men- 
nonite Church*  which  stood  so  gloriously  several  hundred 
years  ago,'  &c.  This  shows  plainly,  where  you  place  yourself, 
viz :  into  the  footsteps  of  the  glorious  church  of  the  time  of 
the  Martyrs.  But  alas  !  alas  !  I  will  leave  each  one  to  examine 
and  prove  for  himself,  how  the  fine  houses  ornamented  after 
the  fashions  of  the  world,  which,  according  to  the  reports,  are 
found  among  you,  compare  with  the  Mennonite  Church  several 
hundred  years  ago;  yes,  I  will  say,  fifty  years  ago;  and  do  you 
not  yourself  see,  how  that  the  spirit  of  gain  and  worldly  wealth 
is  among  your  people  as  among  all  others  ?  and  whence  come 
the  dangerous  slanders,  despisings  and  condemnations  against 
those  who  do  not  agree  with  you,  of  which  we  have  had  to 
hear  so  much  from  some  of  your  members,  whom  you  have 
baptized  as  regenerated  persons?  But  whether  a  person  who 
has  learned  of  Jesus,  true  meekness  and  sincere  humility,  can 
thus  deal  with  his  fellow  man,  I  will  leave  every  experienced 
Christian  himself  judge  by  the  gospel. 

"That  there  is  but  one  church  of  G.od  on  earth,  is  correct, 
as  I  have  already  said,  but  whether  your  addition  to  this,  which 
shows  itself  throughout  your  entire  book,  and  which  the  last 
part  of  your  discourse  at  Bauman's  funeral  also  plainly  showed, 

*It  will  be  remembered  that  John  Herr  never  wiis  a  member  of 
the  Old  Mennonite  Church- 


AND    HEK    ACCUSERS.  189 


namely,  that  your  church  is  the  only  visible  remnant  of  the 
church  of  God  yet  remaining  on  earth,  is  correct  or  not,  you 
will,  no  doubt,  in  the  course  of  time  learn,  as  you  write  on 
pages  235  and  236,  'Secondly,  I  believe  that  all  faithful  souls 
which  truly  hunger  and  thirst  after  righteousness,  will,  with 
the  prodigal  son,  leave  the  communion  of  the  carnal  and  im- 
pure men  and  turn  to  the  Father,  and  by  him  permit  themselves 
to  be  led  to  a  church  where  they  may  obtain  the  true  meat  for 
their  souls,  and  where  they  may  rejoice  with  the  household  of 
the  Father,  namely,  with  the  believing  servants  of  God,  who 
will  bring  forth  the  pure  and  best  garment  of  righteousness 
and  of  the  merits  of  Christ,  and  clothe  them  therewith,  and 
the  ring  of  the  pure  love  of  Christ  they  will  put  on  his  hand, 
and  the  pure  gospel  of  Christ  they  will  also  bring  and  put  on 
his  feet,  in  which  he  will  then  walk  and  keep  his  command- 
ments?' This  passage  I  will  also  leave  to  every  awakened  and 
experienced  Christian  to  examine  for  himself, — whether  a  poor, 
dying  preacher  can  clothe  the  sinner  that  is  hungering  after 
grace,  with  the  merits  and  righteousness,  and  give  him  the 
pure  love  of  Christ,  and  reveal  to  him  the  power  of  the  Gos- 
pel, so  that  he  may  walk  therein,  or  whether  Jesus,  the  blessed 
Savior,  has  resei'ved  this  power  unto  himself,  so  that  he  may 
give  the  penitent  sinner  rightly  to  know,  how  that  he  alone  is 
his  Savior.  It  is,  however,  the  duty  of  every  minister  to  do  as 
did  John,  the  preacher  of  repentance,  namely,  to  point  such 
souls  to  Christ. 

"On  pages  265,  266  and  267,  you  especially  seek  to  con- 
vince your  readers  that  your  church  alone  is  the  right  one,  as 
already  referred  to,  and  with  other  things  you  say,  'Yea,  only 
one  church  that  has  power  to  bind  and  to  loose,  and  that  which 
this  church  cannot  loose  by  the  word  of  God,  or  which  for  the 
sake  of  the  teachings  of  Christ  she  cannot  accept,  must  remain 
without,  or  the  word  of  Christ,  which  is  more  enduring  than 
heaven  and  earth,  must  be  without  virtue,' 

"On  pages  35,  87  and  90  you  use  the  vvord  'Threefold, 


190  THE    MENNONITE    CHURCH 

(DreifaltigkeitX  Of  these  words*  we  find  nothing  in  the 
Scriptures,  and  the  martyrs  also  rejected  them.  See  Martyr's 
Mirror,  Ger.  edition,  page  322,  and  other  places.  They  have 
their  origin,  not  in  the  Apostolic  Church,  but  in  the  Papistical 
Church  of  Rome,  and  if  you  will  examine  this  church  further, 
you  will  find  that  strict  Papists  are  not  any  more  willing  to 
hear  your  doctrine,  than  you  are  to  hear  them.  You  will  also 
find  that  their  firm  belief  is,  that  thoy  are  the  only  true  church 
on  earth,  and  that  she  alone  has  the  keys  to  the  kingdom  of 
heaven,  and  hence,  that  she  alone  has  the  power  to  bind  and 
to  loose,  and  all  who  do  not  submit  to  their  church,  must 
remain  without,  and  what  has  come  out  of  this  doctrine  ?  Did 
they  not  by  divine  permission,  in  the  course  of  time,  come  so 
far,  that  they  declared,  all  who  openly  opposed  their  errors 
deceivers  of  the  people  and  heretics,  and  they  were  put  under 
their  ban,  after  which  usually  followed,  banishment  or  the 
Martyr's  death. 

"Then  go  and  ask  the  Mormons  and  they  will  also  tell  you 
that  their  church  is  the  last  and  only  true  one,  and  whosoever 
does  not  come  into  their  church,  will  be  lost,  and,  according  to 
the  accounts,  we  already  see  whither  these  doctrines  lead,  as 
we  hear  that  they  are  training  their  men  to  the  use  of  the  death- 
dealing  implements  of  war,  and  forming  a  military  defense, 
and  if  God  should  permit  them,  as  He  has  the  Papistical 
Church,  they  will  no  doubt  in  accordance  with  this  doctrine 
seek  to  exterminate  their  opposers  as  they  (the  Papists)  have 
done,  and  probably  think,  in  their  folly,  that  they  are  doing 
God  a<!ceptable  service.  But  now  that  I  have  referred  to  these 
two  churches,  do  not  misinterpret  my  meaning,  as  though  I 
would  compare  you  and  your  church  with  them.  No,  my 
friend,  I  still  hope  better  things  of  you  and  your  church.  I 
have  only  referred  to  the  doctrines  of  these  churche«!.  to  call 
your  attention  and  the  attention  of  others  to  the  danger  there 
is  in  it,  when  a  company  of  men  form  themselves  into  a  church, 


*As  applied  to  God. — Author, 


AND    HER  ACCUSERS.  191 


and  determine  that  they  alone  are  the  right  church,  and  that 
they  alone  possess  the  right  doctrine,  and  the  power  to  bind 
and  to  loose,  and  if  you,  too,  had  not  settled  upon  this  point, 
namely,  that  your  doctrines  and  your  church  were  the  only 
right  ones,  and  all  others  false,  it  would  not  have  been  possi 
ble  for  you,  so  heartlessly  to  condemn  all  other  denominations, 
[and  especially]  those  who  still  maintain  and  acknowledge  a 
true  gospel  doctrine  and  confession,  and  in  their  weakness 
seek  to  live  in  accordance  therewith,  and  which  thousands 
have  sealed  with  their  blood,  and  to  set  them  down  as  worship- 
ers of  idols  and  branches  of  the  spiritual,  Sodomitic  vine, 
which  have  drank  of  the  wine  of  the  Babylonian  whoredom  ; 
and  if  your  followers  had  not  also  accepted  your  doctrines, 
how  would  it  have  been  possible  for  them  to  call  such  cimrches 
as  above  referred  to,  blind  and  dead,  and  to  proclaim  her  min- 
isters deceivers^  &c. 

"The  Scribes  and  Pharisees  also  believed  the  Jewish 
Church  alone  was  acceptable  to  God,  and  some  of  them  went 
so  far  as  to  say,  'That  the  people  who  knew  nothing  of  the 
law  were  accursed.'  They  also  thought  that  Christ  the  Re- 
deemer of  the  world,  was  promised  only  to  the  Church  of 
the  Jews,  and  that  the  Gentiles  had  no  part  in  Him  ;  but  how 
greatly  were  they  mistaken  in  their  views,  not  only  in  reference 
to  the  re-establishment  of  the  secular  kingdom  of  Judaism, 
but  also  in  reference  to  his  spiritual  kingdom,  for  the  Gentiles 
received  a  part  in  the  Kingdom  of  Christ,  as  well  as  the  Jews, 
and  by  far  a  greater  number  of  Gentiles  accepted  the  saving 
faith  in  Christ,  than  Jews," 

"Therefore  my  friend,  it  is  a  dangerous  thing  for  a  person 
to  seat  himself  as  it  were,  into  the  Father's  bosom,  and  endeav- 
or to  cast  others  out.  Paul  says  not  in  vain,  'Let  him  that 
thinketh  he  standeth  take  heed  lest  he  fall,'  Christ  also  says, 
(Luke  14),  'When  thou  art  bidden  of  any  man  to  a  wedding, 
sit  not  down  in  the  highest  room,  lest  a  more  honorable  man 
than  thou  be  bidden  of  him  ;  and  he  that  bade  thee  and  him, 
come  and  say,  'Give  place  to  this  man,  and  thou  begin  with 


192  THti  mennoMte  cHuiicH 

Rhanie  to  take  the  lowest  room.  But  when  thou  art  bidden, 
go,  and  sit  down  in  the  lowest  room,  that  when  he  that  bade 
thee  Cometh,  he  may  say  unto  thee,  Friend,  go  up  higher; 
then  shalt  thou  have  worship  in  the  presence  of  them  that  sit 
at  meat  with  thee ;  for  whosoever  exalteth  himself  shall  be 
abased,  and  he  that  humbleth  himself  shall  be  exalted.' 

"  You  may,  however,  say,  that  in  your  book,  you  did  not 
assert  that  your  church  was  the  only  right  one,  as  I  have  several 
times  referred  to.  But  if  by  the  church  which  you  claim  to 
be  the  right  one,  you  do  not  have  reference  to  your  own,  where 
shall  your  readers  find  the  true  church  ?  as  you  place  all  others 
under  Babel. 

"  Herewith  you  have  my  answer  and  if  it  will  serve  to 
bring  you  and  others  to  reflect  and  prove  a  benefit,  I  shall  be 
rewarded  for  my  labor.  If,  however,  you  reject  it  and  seek 
to  place  me  where  you  put  the  ministers  of  the  Mennonite 
Church,  in  the  fifth  chapter  of  your  book,  namely,  as  unfaitli- 
ful,  deceivers  and  murderers,  my  prayer  to  a  merciful  God 
shall  still  be,  that  on  ray  account  he  may  not  lay  anything  to 
your  charge,  for  I  wish  you  and  all  your  fellow  members  eter- 
nal salvation  as  well  as  to  others." 

The  foregoing  letter  was  never  replied  to. 

Thus  we  see  how  John  Herr  claimed  to  be  a  Mennonite  of 
the  purest  water,  a  Mennonite  as  they  were  two  centuries  ago, 
in  the  days  of  the  Martyrs,  when  the  Church  was  yet,  as  he 
claims,  in  her  glory,  though  he  never  united  with  the  acknowl- 
edged Mennonite  Church,  but  commenced  his  church  as  a 
separate  organization,  and  endeavors  to  show  that  the  line  of 
succession,  or  the  lineage  of  the  church,  her  piety,  her  purity, 
and  her  glory,  which  she  once  possessed,  had  departed  from 
tlie  Old  Organization  and  passed  upon  him^and  his  church,  and 
Musser  freely  acknowledges,  that  in  order  to  justify  themselves, 
in  forming  a  new  organization,  they  must  be  able  to  prove  the 
Old  Church  corrupt  and  dead,  and  says,  page  275,  "The  ques- 
tion of  whether  John  Herr  and  his  associates  were  justifiable 
in  organizing  the  Refox-med  Mennonite  Church,  rests  entirely 


AND    HfiR  ACCUSfiES.  19^ 


upon  that  of  whether  tlie  Old  Mennonite  Church  was,  at  the 
time,  a  dead  or  a  living  body.  If  she  was  a  true,  living 
church  of  God,  under  the  influencte  of  the  Holy  Spirit  and  led 
by  him,  then  the  others  were  not  justifiable  in  the  course  they 
took,  and  it  could  not  have  been  the  Holy  Spirit  which  led 
them  to  it,  but  mucli  more  an  anti-Christian  Spirit."  On  page 
277  he  further  says,  "If  the  Mennonite  Church,  at  the  com- 
mencement of  the  present  century,  was  the  Church  of  Christ, 
the  same  as  they  admit  it  was  in  the  16th  century,  John  Herr 
and  his  associates,  by  their  own  profession,  did  wrong  and 
were  in  no  wise  justifiable  in  organizing  another.  The  Holy 
Spirit  could  not  have  led  them  to  it,  and  consequently  it 
could  not  have  been  of  God,  and  must  have  been  to  him 
an  anti-Christian  and  an  idolatrous  work,  and  an  abomination 
in  his  sight.' 

From  the  foregoing  the  reader  will  see  the  reason  why  it 
is  necessary  for  them  to  make  so  great  an  effort  to  prove  the 
Old  Church  dead,  namely,  to  justify  themselves  in  organizing 
a  new  church.  They  are  well  aware  that  if  they  cannot  do 
this,  they,  according  to  their  own  words,  condemn  themselves, 
and  so  rather  than  bring  a  fault  upon  themselves,  or  acknowl- 
edge their  errors,  as  every  sincere  Christian  ought  to  do,  they 
use  every  means  at  their  command  to  prove  the  Old  Church 
dead,  even  at  the  expense  of  the  truth.*  But  as  we  have 
shown  that  their  accusations  are  false  and  that  they  haye 
failed  to  prove  the  Old  Church  dead,  it  must  follow  that  their 
course  was  unjustifiable,  and  that  they  had  no  Scriptural  right 
to  form  a  new  church,  and  hence,  according  to  their  own 
assertions  and  their  own  mode  of  reasoning^  the  kind 
reader  may  judge  for  himself  whether  they  can  be  the  true,  or 
the  only  true  church  of  God,  as  they  claim  they  are. 

The  true  criterion  whereby  a  tree  is  known,  is  the  fruit 
it  bears  ;  so  men  and  churches  are  known  by  their  deeds,  and 
as  we  are  commanded  by  Christ  not  to  judge,  and  Paul  tells 

*See  also  extract    on   page  19  and  remarks  on  page  20  of  this 
book. 

25 


194  TfiK   MENNONITE   CHURCH 

US,  to  speak  evil  of  no  man,  we  will  let  the  facts  which  we 
have  presented,  speak  for  themselves,  and  with  all  charity  (for 
without  charity  we  are  as  sounding  brass  and  a  tinkling 
cymbal),  after  the  false  accusations  they  have  heaped  upon  us, 
we  feel  to  pray  for  them,  and  sincerely  wish  them  the  mercy  of 
God  and  the  merits  of  Christ,  as  the  hope  of  their  salvation, 
without  which  all  is  in  vain. 


REMARKS  AND  INCIDENTS. 


In  confirmation  of  the  fact  that  the  fathers  and  prophets 
who  lived  under  the  Old  Dispensation,  previous  to  the  coming 
of  Christ,  did  possess  the  Holy  Ghost,  we  have  a  very  plain 
and  decided  testimony  in  the  words  of  Paul  (Acts  28  :  25), 
where  he  says,  "Well  spake  the  Holy  Ghost  by  Esaias  the 
prophet  unto  our  fathers,"  &c.  And  another  given  by  Jesus 
himself,  where  He  says,  Mark  12  :  36,  "For  David  himself 
said  hy  the  Holy  Ghost,  The  Lord  said  to  my  Lord,  Sit  thou 
on  my  right  hand,  till  I  make  thine  enemies  thy  footstool," 
The  foregoing  testimonies  are  not  the  opinions  of  men,  but 
the  words  of  inspiration,  and  the  latter  being  given  by  Jesus 
himself,  establishes  the  fact  so  firmly  as  to  leave  no  further 
room  for  controversy. 

An  Incident. — In  conversation  with  one  of  our  old  min- 
isters. Brother  B ,  we  made  special    inquiries,  whether  he 

remembered  or  had  seen  in  the  church  anything  that  corres- 
ponded with  the  charges  made  by  John  Ilerr  and  Daniel  Mus- 
ser.     He  answered  in  the  negative,  and  said   that  he  particu- 


AND    HER    ACCUSERS.  195 


larly  remembered  an  instance,  where  a  company  of  young 
people,  with  some  older  ones,  had  conducted  themselves  in  an 
unbecoming  manner,  on  a  Sunday  afternoon,  and  that  those 
who  were  members  of  the  church,  were  all  required  to  account 
to  the  church  for  it.  This  incident  transpired  twenty  years 
later  than  tlie  time  designated  by  Musser,  but  under  the  im- 
mediate supervision  of  the  old  ministers,  who  had  lived  already 
in  the  time  of  which  Musser  speaks,  or  if  they  were  not  then 
in  the  ministry,  they  at  least  received  their  instructions  and 
commissions  from  the  men  who  had  lived  during  that  time,  and 
whose  example  and  instructions  they  no  doubt  followed.  This 
incident  shows  how  watchful  they  were,  not  only  that  they 
themselves,  but  also  that  their  members  should  avoid  even 
every  appearance  of  evil. 

Abraham  Godshalk,  from  whose  writings,  published  in 
1838,  we  made  some  extracts  in  a  formei-  part  of  this  work, 
was  born  in  Bucks  county.  Pa.,  in  1791,  ordained  to  the  min- 
istry when  about  thirty  years  of  age,  which  would  have  been 
about  the  year  1821.  His  work  was  written  both  in  the  Eng- 
lish and  German  languages,  in  his  latter  days,  probably  in  the 
same  year  in  which  it  was  published.  The  subject,  however, 
had  been  dwelling  on  his  mind  for  some  years  previously. 
The  above  facts  I  had  intended  to  insert  in  their  proper  place, 
with  my  remarks  on  this  subject,  in  the  body  of  the  work,  but 
did  not  receive  them  until  after  that  part  of  the  work  had  been 
printed.     Hence  I  give  them  a  place  here. 

Another  Incident. — The  following  incident  is  a  valua- 
ble addition  to  the  testimonies  of  the  piety  and  devotion  to 
the  cause  of  religion,  of  the  old  ministers,  already  given. 
How  great  a  contrast  there  is  between  the  representations  of 
our  accusers  and  the  character  here  shown  forth  ! 

A  minister  was  conversing  with  an  old  brother  in  regard 
to  the  death  of  Bishop  Jacob  Brubacher,  who  died  on  the  16th 
of  March,  1879.  The  brother  said,  he  knew  both  his  father 
and  his  grand-father  (both  were  Bishops),  and  related  an  inci- 


196  THE    MENNONITE    CHURCH 

dent  which  took  place  in  the  days  of  the  grandfather,  in  a 
village  near  Lancaster,  now  called  Rohrerstown.  The  grand- 
father of  the  late  Jacob  Brubacher,  (whose  name  was  also 
Jacob,  and  is  the  same  one  mentioned  in  the  preceding  parts  of 
this  bookl,  was  passing  through  the  village  and  saw  some  boys 
(not  members  of  the  church)  playing  ball.  The  old  Bishop 
rode  up  to  them  and  said  in  kind  words,  "  O  boys,  this  is  wrong 
to  play  ball  on  Sunday  ;  this  you  ought  not  to  do."  They 
quit  playing,  but  the  next  Sunday  one  of  the  party  wished  to 
play  again.  One  of  the  others,  however,  said,  "No:  I  was 
ashamed  last  Sunday.  You  may  play  if  you  want  to,  but  I 
made  a  promise  to  myself  that  I  would  not  again  play  ball  on 
Sunday,  and  I  intend  to  keep  it." 

A  GOOD  LESSON  for  thosc  who  think  they  alone  hold  the 
keys  to  the  kingdom  of  heaven  is  given  us  in  the  reproofs  of 
the  Savior  to  His  disciples  when  they  manifested  a  similar 
spirit.  When  they  saw  one  casting  out  devils  in  the  name  of 
Jesus,  they  forbade  him,  because  he  followed  not  with  them- 
But  the  Savior  said,  "Forbid  him  not,  for  he  that  is  not  against 
us,  is  for  us." 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

OTHER    MODERN    REFORMERS    AND    THEIR    CLAIMS. 

Some  thirty  years  after  John  Herr  had  risen  up  as  a 
Reformer  of  the  Mennonite  Church,  and  so  un8(«'upulously 
brought  his  unjust  charges  and  accusations  against  her,  Jacob 
Stauflfer,  to  whom  I  have  referred  in  a  previous  chapter,  who 
was  a  minister  of  the  Old  Mennonite  Church,  was,  on  account 
of  some  difficulty,  expelled  from  her  communion,  and  then 
began  to  build  up  an  organization  of  his  own  (though  with 
very  limited  success),  which  he,  like  Herr,  Musser  and  others, 
claimed  to  be  the  true  church  of  God,  and  like  them  also  brings 
many  serious  charges  and  accusations  against  the  Old  Church, 
and  maintains  that  she  had  departed  from  the  true  faith  and 
was  a  corrupted  church. 

In  his  writings,  however,  he  endeavors  to  show,  that  dur- 
ing the  very  time,  in  which  Herr  and  Musser  would  have  the 
church  so  corrupt,  her  glory  had  not  yet  all  departed,  and  that 
while  he  remained  in  the  church,  she  still  possessed  a  reasona- 
ble degree  of  life  and  spiritual  power.  He  says  that  at  the 
close  of  the  last  and  the  beginning  of  the  present  centuries, 
the  church  was  not  so  dead  and  corrupt  as  Herr  and  Musser 
try  to  make  it  appear,  but  that  the  decay  of  the  church  com- 
menced about  1800  and  progressed  gradually  until  1840  ;  that 
from  1800  to  1830  "Satan  sought  to  bring  this  beautiful,  fruit- 
ful church  into  decay,  but  according  to  his  testimony  he  did 
not  succeed,  for  he  further  says,  '  There  were  in  these  years, 
yet  many  such  true  witnesses  in  the  church  who  sought  to 
avoid  all  appearauce  of  evil  (1  Thess.  5  :  22),  and  with  a  cor- 


198  THE    MENNONITE    CHURCH 

dial  desire,  by  prayer,  supplication  and  solicitation  to  God,  and 
by  His  aid,  sought  to  walk  faithfully,  pure  and  uprightly,  in 
love  before  the  Lord  ;  and  these  always  testified  against  the 
things  before  mentioned,  and  everything  that  tends  to  the 
decay,  destruction  and  desolation  of  the  church,  to  keep  the 
church  pure,  clear,  and  separate  from  the  world,  whereunto 
Jesus  ordained  and  called  her.'  "* 

Then  he  claims  that  from  1830  to  1840  the  decay  of  the 
church  increased,  and  afterwards,  about  1845-46,  after  he  was 
separated  or  expelled  from  the  church,  and  began  to  build  up 
an  organization  of  his  own,  the  mantle  of  God's  approbation 
fell  upon  him  and  his  church,  as  in  his  writings,  he  also  traces 
the  history  of  the  church  from  the  days  of  the  Martyrs  down, 
and  finds  the  true  line  of  succession  in  himself,  though  to  his 
credit  we  must  say,  that  while  to  a  large  degree  he  manifests  a 
similar  spirit  to  that  of  Herr  and  Musser,  he  was  much  more 
moderate  than  they  were. 

Some  twelve  or  thirteen  years  after  Jacob  Stauffer  had 
made  his  appearance  as  the  originator  and  leader  of  a  new  sect, 
another  of  these  reformers  and  leaders  of  the  only  true  and 
living  church  of  God  (of  which  our  age  is  so  prolific),  made 
his  appearance,  in  the  church  in  charge  of  Bishop  John  Shaura, 
and  Minister  Peter  Troxel,  in  Wayne  county,  Ohio,  in  the  per- 
son of  John  Holdeman,  who  has  brought  himself  into  consid- 
erable notoriety  through  his  efforts  to  build  up  and  extend  his 
church,  both  by  preaching  and  writing,  and  in  his  claims  and 
pretentions  exceeds  all  the  modern  reformers  of  whom  we  have 
any  knowledge,  claiming  to  understand  the  fore-knowledge  of 
God,  to  possess  the  "gift  of  prophecy,"  the  expounding  of 
mysteries,  the  interpretation  of  dreams,  visions,  &c.,  and 
places  himself  in  a  position  so  exalted  that  every  one  must  be 
astonished  at  his  boldness. 

He  united  with  the  church  in  the  above  mentioned  place, 
in  1853.     He  was  baptized  by  Bishop   Abraham   Kohrer,  and 


*History  of  the  Church  of  God. 


AND    HER   ACCUSERS.  199 


told  him  before  the  services,  on  the  day  of  his  baptism,  that 
he  would  be  called  to  be  a  minister,  and  after  being  received 
into  the  church,  he  also  claimed,  like  others  whom  we  have 
noticed  in  the  foregoing  pages,  that  tlie  church  had  departed 
from  the  old  and  true  foundation  and  fallen  into  decay ;  but  in 
his  efforts  to  institute  a  reformation,  in  accordance  with  his 
views,  he  met  with  little  success. 

Having  a  strong  faith  in  his  dreams  and  visions  and  giving 
heed  to  these  rather  than  to  the  word  of  God  and  the  rules  and 
traditions  of  the  Church,*  to  which  he  had  promised  to  con- 
form himself,  and  being  directed  as  he  claims,  by  dreams  and 
a  direct  revelation  of  the  Spirit,  he  preached  his  first  discourse 
on  Sunday,  January  24th,  1858,  in  his  own  house,  to  an  audi- 
ence of  eleven  persons,  composed  of  his  nearest  family  con- 
nections and  neighbors,  who  had  come  to  visit  him  on  that 
day.  This  coming  together  of  his  friends  and  neighbors, 
and  the  delivering  of  his  discourse,  he  claims  to  have  been  the 
fulfillment  of  a  prophecy,  which,  through  the  Spirit  of  God, 
he  had  uttered  a  few  days  previously.  In  this  discourse  he 
spoke  about  two  hours  and  uttered  more  prophecies,  declaring 
that  God  would  divide  the  church  into  two  parts,  and  if  this 
would  not  take  place,  he  would  be  a  liar  and  not  sent  of  God, 
and  that  it  should  come  to  pass  within  the  period  of  three 
years  at  farthest. 

After  some  further  contention  and  fruitless  efforts  with 
the  Old  Church,  and  the  Bishops  and  Ministers  of  the  same, 
in  the  effort  to  conform  them  to  his  ideas  and  his  way  of 
thinking,  he  separated  himself  from  the  church,  and  after  a 
time  began  to  preach  regularly,  and  three  othei-  persons  who 
were  members  of  the  church  accepted  his  teachings,  and  went 
with  him,  and  this  is  the  division  which  he  claims  to  have 
foretold  in  his  prophecy,  that  God   would  divide  the  church 


*The  word  of  God  is  a  full  and  sufficient  guide  to  us  in  all  things, 
and  the  Apostle  Paul  directs  also  to  give  heed  to  the  traditions  or 
rules  of  the  church  and  to  the  instructions  of  the  ministers  2  Thes 
2  :  15  ;  3  :  6  ;  Heb.   13  :  17. 


into  two  parts,  and  now,  following  in  the  wake  of  Herr,* 
Stauffer  and  Musser  (all  of  whom  he  likewise  condemns),  he 
holds  that  the  Old  Mennonite  Church  has  departed  from  the 
true  faith,  become  a  corrupted  and  decayed  church  and  that 
his  church  is  the  only  remaining  remnant  of  the  church  of 
God  left  upon  earth.  He  traces  the  lineage  of  the  church  of 
God  from  the  beginning  of  time,  and  brings  it  down  from  the 
days  of  the  Apostles,  through  the  Waldenses,  Menno  Simon, 
and  Deitrich  Philip,  to  the  time  he  left  her  in  1859.  Then  he 
claims,  as  above  stated,  that  the  church  had  become  corrupt, 
and  because  he  endeavored  to  reform  her  of  her  corruptions, 
and  mould  her  in  accordance  with  his  views,  and  she  would 
not,  that  God  departed  from  her  and  gave  the  token  of  accept- 
ance and  of  the  true  church  to  him. 

In  his  letter  to  John  Shaum  and  Peter  Troxel,  as  given  on 
page  196  in  his  work,  "History  of  the  Church  of  God,"  he 
says,  "  God  will  no  doubt  propagate  His  church  through  us, 
both  in  the  inward  and  outward  ordinance  and  command,  as 
long  as  we  remain  faithful ;  but  God  has  departed  so  far 
from  you  that  he  will  not  any  more  acknoioledge  your 
church  as  His  church,  and  will  send  you  one  confusion  and 
disturbance  after  another,  in  such  a  manner  that  he  will  lead 
out  from  among  you  His  faithful  children  and  bring  them  into 
their  proper  home."f  Again,  page  222,  he  says,  "  Experience 
teaches  us  that  the  Old  Mennonites  are  not  willing  to  accept 
the  old  ground  and  live  thereto.  A.  Rohrer  was  a  gifted  man 
— had  the  best  gifts  of  any  minister  in  his  time — had  gifts 
sufficient  to  bring  the  church  to  the  proper  ground  if  he  had 
been  willing  as  a  certain  revelation  says  ;  but  as  he  was  not 
willing,  God  called  me  for  that  purposed  Behold,  dear 
reader,  how  does  this  compare  with  the  words  of  the  Apostle 
Paul  where  he  acknowledges  that  it  was  not  meet  that  he 


*  John  Herr  also  bad  a  number  of  dreams  and  visions  in  which 
he  put  much  reliance. 

fThis  "  proper  home  "  evidently  means  Holdeman's  church. 


AND    HER    ACCUSEDS.  201 

should  be  called  an  apostle,  and  that  he  had  nothing  to  glory 
in  save  the  cross  of  Christ  and  his  own  infirmities  ? 

Thus  Holduman  goes  on  and  condemns  all  outside  of  his 
own  church,  setting  himself  up  upon  the  very  highest  pinnacle 
of  self  exaltation,  and  claiming  to  be  the  chief  representative 
of  the  only  true  church  of  God  on  earth,  and  also  maintains, 
like  Herr,  Musser  and  Stauffer,  that  before  the  organization  of 
his  church,  the  Old  Mennonite  Church  was  a  true  and  accepta- 
ble church  of  God,  and  that  his  own  baptism,  received  in  the 
Old  Church,  was  a  valid,  Christian  baptism,  but  that  aftei'wai-ds 
all  baptisms  administered  by  the  Old  Church  were  invalid, 
because  then  God  had  rejected  the  Old  Church  as  a  corrupted 
or  decayed  church.  He  frequently  contradicts  himself,  and 
shows  in  his  writings  many  inconsistencies  and  great  weakness 
in  the  faith. 

He  claims  that  the  Old  Church,  though  a  decayed  church, 
was  still  the  church  of  God  until  he  left  it.  He  says  at  one 
time  that  Bishop  Abraham  Rohrer  had  experienced  a  change 
of  heart  and  preached  in  power,  and  afterwards,  speaking  of 
him,  he  says,  God  gave  him  a  long  time  to  repent  and  yet  he 
did  not  repent.  This  would  show  that  Bishop  Abraham  Rohrer 
was  an  impenitent  man  when  he  baptized  him,  and  thus  uniting 
with  a  decayed  church,  and  being,  accoiding  to  his  own 
declaration,  baptized  by  an  impenitent  bishop,  he  yet  claims  that 
the  church  was  a  church  of  God,  and  his  baptism  a  valid  bap- 
tism, and  tliis  he  does  in  order  to  establish  his  being  called  of 
God  to  the  work,  in  which  he  is  now  engaged,  and  to  prove 
the  lineage  of  the  church  of  God  from  the  days  of  the  apostles 
down  to  himself. 

He  strongly  condemns  in  others,  things  wliich  he  does 
himself,  as  any  one  reading  his  book  carefully,  will  readily 
see,  and  manifests  a  spirit  of  self-exaltation,  tliat  ill-becomes 
one  who  possesses  the  spiritual  gifts  and  tlie  measure  of  divine 
grace  which  he  professes  to  possess.  He  claims  to  have  been 
called  to  the  ministry,  like  Paul,  directly  from  God,  without 
human  instrumentality,  while  it  is  quite  evident  that  the  spirit 
20 


202  f  HE   MENNONlTE   CHURCIi 

of  self-exaltation  which  he  so  largely  manifests,  had  much  to 
do  with  it,  though  he  complains  that  this  accusation  was 
brought  against  him,  and  positively  denies  it. 

There  are  many  other  points  which  I  could  notice  in  this 
connection,  but  in  this  work,  I  shall  not  pursue  the  subject 
any  further,  having  in  contemplation  a  fuller  discussion  of  his 
claims  in  a  separate  work.  I  have  thus  briefly  referred  to 
Holdeman's  claims  in  order  to  show  the  similarity  in  them 
to  all  our  modern  reformers,  their  inconsistencies  and  their 
contradictory  evidences,  which  the  reader  will  readily  observe. 
Herr  and  Musser,  as  we  have  shown,  condemn  our  church  as  a 
dead  church,  long  before  the  close  of  the  last  and  the  beginning 
of  the  present  centuries  ;  this  they  do  to  justify  their  course 
of  action  in  organizing  the  Reformed  Church.  Jacob  Stauffer 
denies  this  assertion  and  claims  that  the  church  was  still  meas- 
urably pure  until  1840,  and  that  after  he  was  expelled  from  the 
church  in  1845-6,  the  church  was  most  corrupt.  Now  comes 
Holdeman  and  claims  that  the  church  was  yet  a  true  and 
acceptable  church  of  God  until  1858-9  when  he  separated 
from  her,  and  with  his  departure,  God  also  departed  from  her, 
and  she  is  now  a  rejected  church.  Alas,  is  not  the  human 
heart  full  of  selfishness,  and  deceitful  above  all  things  !  Give 
us  an  impartial  historian  who  will  write  the  truth  from  an 
impartial  stand-point,  who  will  not  allow  himself  to  warp 
and  shape  history  to  suit  his  own  views  and  sentiments ;  or 
who  will  not  shade  or  discolor  facts  to  justify  himself  and 
condemn  others  from  selfish  motives.  "Who  shall  ascend 
into  the  Hill  of  the  Lord  ?  and  who  shall  stand  in  llis  holy 
place  ?  He  that  hath  clean  hands  and  a  pure  heart,  who  hath 
not  lifted  up  his  soul  unto  vanity,  nor  sworn  deceitfully.  He 
who  declareth  the  truth,  even  to  his  own  hurt  and  changeth 
not."     Ps.  26  :  3,  4  ;  15  :  4. 

I  am  personally  acquainted  with  John  Holdeman  and  our 
intercourse  has  always  been  of  the  most  friendly  character, 
and  I  have  always  entertained  a  very  friendly  feeling  towards 
him  ;  but  vvdien  men   publicly  assail   and  condemn   the  church 


AND    HEK    ACCUSERS.  203 


which  I  believe  to  be  right,  and  which  I  love  and  cherish, — 
her  faith,  doctrines,  customs  and  charactei-,  and  seek  to  sow 
broadcast  over  the  land,  the  errors,  misrepresentations,  incon- 
sistencies and  self-contradictious,  which  the  men  referred  to  in 
the  foregoing  pages  have,  they  must  not  complain,  when  their 
erroneous  teachings,  their  follies,  and  their  inconsistencies  are 
in  like  manner  contradicted  and  exposed. 

There  are  also  a  number  of  other  modern  reformers,  and 
leaders  of  sects,  who  to  a  greater  or  less  degree  assume  simi- 
lar positions,  but  as  they  do  not  assume  such  high  places,  nor 
make  any  effort  to  bring  their  teachings  and  their  accusations 
against  the  Old  Mennonite  Church,  so  prominently  before  the 
world,  as  those  concerning  whom  we  have  written  (though 
some  of  them  may  not  be  any  less  radical),  I  will  drop  the 
mantle  of  charity  over  their  weaknesses  and  for  the  present 
leave  the  matter  with  the  kind  reader.  I  have  shown  to  a  suf- 
ficient degree  the  inconsistencies  of  these  men,  and  how  they 
exalt  themselves  above  measure  in  their  own  selfish  views,  and 
greatly  err,  and  thus  exceed  the  bounds  of  the  gospel,  and  lose 
that  singleness  of  heart,  which  the  teachings  of  Christ  and 
His  apostles  so  highly  commend.  I  have  also  tried  to  show 
the  dangers  into  which  such  errors  lead,  and  hope,  all  who 
read  this  work,  may  try  to  avoid  them. 


CONCLUSION. 


In  writing  the  foregoing  work,  I  have  not  written  with 
the  expectation  of  gaining  the  favor  or  the  praise  of  men, 
and  shall  not  be  disappointed  if  criticisms  and  censures  follow. 
The  fear  of  censure  and  criticism,  however,  has  not  deterred 
me  from  saying  what  I  felt  that  duty  and  the  circumstances 


204  THE    MBNNONITE    CHURCH 

required,  and  I  hope  I  may  always  be  able  to  do  this.  I  have 
written  carefully.  I  have  written  only  what  can  be  substantia- 
ted by  proof  and  met  with  actual  testimony.  I  have  carefully 
considered  every  subject  that  presented  itself  and  written  in 
the  fear  of  the  Lord,  asking  for  that  wisdom  which  is  from 
above  to  guide  me  aright,  and  that  I  might  write  only  what 
was  edifying  and  true.  I  have  endeavored  to  do  no  injustice 
to  any  one.  In  the  effort  to  present  to  the  reader  the  course, 
actions  and  doctrines  of  our  accusers,  I  have  sought  to  reason 
from  a  correct  stand-point,  and  to  write  with  an  impartial  and 
an  unbiassed  mind. 

Yet  with  all  this  the  work  has  its  imperfections,  and  might, 
by  abler  hands,  have  been  done  much  better.  This,  however, 
is  what,  under  the  kind  guidance  and  blessing  of  our  heavenly 
Father,  was  given  me  to  write,  and  this  I  have  written,  and 
now  in  the  hope  that  it  may  do  good,  that  its  mission  may  be 
a  blessing  to  the  chin-ch  and  the  world,  I  send  it  forth,  and, 
kind  reader,  if  the  reproofs  seem  too  sharp,  or  too  severe,  if 
you  have  found  no  special  good  or  benefit  in  the  exposing  of 
the  false  and  unjust  accusations  brought  against  the  church,  I 
sincerely  trust  that  you  may  have  found  history,  doctrines, 
admonitions  and  counsels  that  will  amply  repay  you  for  the 
reading,  and  in  the  language  of  Scripture  I  would  say,  "  Prove 
all  things  "  and  "  hold  fast  that  which  is  good." 

I  have  given  the  reader  a  simple  sketch  of  the  accusations 
of  Daniel  Musser  and  others  against  the  Old  Mennonite 
Church,  and  also  some  of  the  erroneous  and  unscriptural  doc- 
trines which  some  of  them  teach.  I  have  in  my  weakness, 
imperfectly  as  it  may  be,  tried  to  show  that  these  accusations 
are  unjust,  devoid  of  Christian  charity  and  almost  altogether 
false  and  untrue  (I  can  use  no  milder  terra  to  express  the 
truth),  and  I  believe  that  the  testimonies  given,  fully  show 
this,  though  many  others,  also,  not  given  might  be  produced. 
In  reference  to  the  erroneous  doctrines  advanced  by  Daniel 
Musser,  I  think  the  belief  of,  the  Old  Mennonite  Church  has 
Ijeen  fully  vindicated,  though  giveij  rather  briefly.     I  have  not 


AND    HER    ACCUSERS.  205 


written  with  any  feelings  of  unkindness  or  ill  will  toward  any 
of  the  men,  or  the  churches  mentioned,  or  the  churches  they 
represent,  but  simply  to  vindicate  and  assert  the  truth,  and  as 
a  testimony  of  our  church  for  the  true  doctrine  of  the  Bible 
and  the  faith  once  delivered  to  the  saints.  Had  these  men  not 
written  as  they  did  and  placed  the  Old  Church  in  so  false  a 
light  before  the  world,  and  transmitted  this  false  view  and 
these  misrepresentations  to  the  records  of  history  (and  besides 
the  reader  will  also  remember  that  Daniel  Musser  expressly 
requested  to  be  corrected,  if  in  error),  the  necessity  of  such 
a  vindication  would  not  have  existed,  and  I  should  not  have 
written  these  things.  But  if  the  church  or  her  representative 
men  had  remained  silent  after  these  things  had  thus  been 
scattered  broadcast  over  the  world,  history  would  tell  to 
future  generations,  without  a  dissenting  voice,  the  story  of  a 
dead,  formalistic  church,  lying  in  the  deepest  degradation  of 
moral  corruption,  a  church  possessing  not  one  redeeming 
quality  ;  history  would  tell  to  future  generations  the  story  of 
a  perverted  doctrine,  and  as  no  protesting  voice  was  ever  raised 
against  these  accusations,  and  these  perversions  of  doctrine, 
they  would  naturally  have  to  be  accepted  as  truths,  and  our 
silence  would  confirm  them,  and  we  would  be  the  unconscious 
witnesses,  testifying  to  the  truth  of  these  false  accusations  and 
doctrinal  perversions  against  ourselves.  We  are  admonished 
to  "contend  earnestly  for  the  faith  once  delivered  to  the 
saints,"  and  let  us  not  fail  to  do  it. 

While  we  have  sometimes  used  strong  and  forcible  lan- 
guage in  these  criticisms,  we  have  restricted  ourselves  to 
subjects,  and  the  actions  of  persons,  thrown  open  to  criticism 
by  our  accusers  ;  and  in  no  case  have  we  arraigned  the  private 
actions  and  dealings  of  individuals,  with  a  view  to  lower  them 
in  the  esteem  of  others  ;  neither  have  we  sought  to  degrade  or 
malign  the  Church  in  its  general  character,  but  so  far  as  her 
representative  men  have  laid  themselves,  their  actions  and  their 
doctrines,  open  to  public  criticism,  we  have  not,  and  sha.ll  not 


206  THE    MKNNONITB    CHURCH    &C. 

hesitate  to  deal  with  them  as  ti'uth  and  the  honor  of  God's 
kingdom  may  require. 

We  only  wish  to  i-epeat  that  the  love  of  the  truth  prompted 
us  to  this  work.  We  claim  for  our  Church  no  better  reputa- 
tion than  she  deserves.  Her  own  actions,  and  the  walk  and 
conversation  of  hei-  membership,  will  be  her  strongest  testi- 
mony ;  with  deep  humility  we  acknowledge  her  many  imper- 
fections ;  we  have  nothing  to  glory  in  save  our  weakness  ;  but 
where  shall  we  find  a  church  that  has  anything  better  ? 

Our  Church  has  stood  the  storm  of  persecution  for  centu- 
ries ;  she  has  remained  steadfast  under  many  trials;  she  has 
been  slandered,  maligned,  abused  and  misrepresented,  but 
never  destroyed  ;  she  has  seen  men  who  were  with  her,  but  not 
of  her,  who  backslided  and  departed  from  her  ;  she  has  seen 
unfaithful  men,  who  loved  the  world  and  its  honors  more  than 
God,  Demas-like,  depart  from  her,  and  with  the  most  malig- 
nant spirit,  heap  their  severest  vituperations  upon  her,  but 
bearing  it  all  in  Christian  meekness,  they  could  not  I'ob  her  of 
her  candlestick,  nor  take  the  light  of  heavenly  glory  from  her, 
for  the  Lord  was  with  her.  The  history  of  our  Church  is  one 
of  persecution  and  suffering,  and  remembering  the  meek 
endurance  of  our  forefathers,  and  that  these  things  according 
to  the  words  of  our  Savior  (Matt.  5  :  11,  12),  are  a  mark  of 
acceptability  with  God,  we,  with  deep  humility  of  heart,  kiss 
the  rod  and  accept  the  chastening  of  the  Lord,  believing  that 
it  is  good  for  us  ;  and  we  pray  the  Lord  with  all  our  hearts, 
"not  to  lay  this  sin  to  their  charge,''  but  to  "forgive  them,  for 
they  know  not  what  they  do." 


CONTENTS. 

o 

T 

Preface 3 

CHAPTER  I. 

Claims  and  accusations  of  Daniel  Musser  and  John  Herr, 

with  Extracts  from  their  writings 6 

CHAPTER  II. 

Characteristics — Motives — Our  Position,  and  the  Charac- 
ter of  Musser's  Testimony 22 

CHAPTER  HI. 

How    we   may   know — The   old    Ministers — Writings  of 

Henry  Funk   and  others 30 

CHAPTER  IV. 

Martin  Bcehm's  Departure — Doctrines   and   Practices   of 

the  Church   set  forth 41 

CHAPTER  V. 

Testimonies  from  the  Writings  of  Christian  Burkholder 

on  Repentance,  Reflections,  &c 60 

CHAPTER  VI. 

Extracts    from   the   Writings   of  Peter   Burkholder   and 

Abraham  Godshalk,  with  Remarks 68 


208  COKTENTS. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

Letters  from  Henry  Hunsicker,  Christian  Nissley,  Jacob 

Hostetter  and  Henry  Kolb 88 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

Letters  from  various   Persons,  &c 100 

CHAPTER  IX. 
Remarks,  Extracts,  &c 119 

CHAPTER  X. 

Doctrines  of  Daniel  Musser — The  Forgiveness  of  Sins..    132 

CHAPTER  XI. 

No  Children  of  God — No  Receiving  of  the  Holy  Ghost — 

No  Church  of  God ^ 151 

CHAPTER  XIL 

Further  Extracts  from  the  Writings  of  Daniel  Musser 
with  Remarks — Account  of  the  Visit  of  Benjamin 
and  Amos  Herr,  to  Daniel  Musser,  &c 170 

CHAPTER  XIIL 

Self-exaltalion — Extracts   from    Bishop   Christian    Herr's 

(Pequea)  Letter  to  John  Herr,  &c 181 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

Other  Modern  Reformers  and  their  Claims 197 

Conclusion 203 


INDEX. 


Accusations  against  the  Old  Mennonite  Church  1 — 18,  170,  171 
Adam  and  Eve,  Their  Reconciliation 132,  140 

Boehm,  Martin,  Departure  of 41 

Burkholder,  Christian  and  his  Writings tiO,  61,  85 

Burkholder,  Peter  and  his  Writings 68,  69,  85 

Brubacher,  Bishop  Jacob 119 

Characteristics  of  the  Reformed  Mennonite  Church 5 

Claims  of    the    Author    of    the    "Reformed    Mennonite 

Church  " 5 

Character  of  Musser's  Testimony 26,  27 

Character  of  the  Old  Ministers 32 

Church  of  God 162 

Claims  of  John  Kohr 177 — iso 

Conclusion  of  Christian  Herr's  (Pequea)  Letter 192 

Claims  of  John  Holdeman 198 

Conclusion 203 

Extracts  from  Daniel  Musser's  Writings.  .7—18,  132,  135,  171 

Expulsion  of  Francis  Herr 27,  28,  109,  110 

Extracts  from  the  Writings  of  Henry  Funk 33,  166 

Extract  from  Christian  Funk's  Letter 58 

Extracts  from  the  Writings  of  Abraham  Godshalk, 82 

Extract  from  a  Letter  from  Christian  Herr 100 

Eby,  Bishop  Peter 120 


210  INDEX. 

Funk,  Bishop  Henry 85,  128 

Forgiveness  of  Sins  under  the  Old  Dispensation 132 

Holdenian,  John  Extract  from 122 

Hunsicker,  Bishop  Henry 88,  123 

Holy  Spirit  given  to  Believers  under  the  Old  Dispensation  15? 

Inconsistency,  An  Example  of 129 

Incidents 125,  129 

Letter  from  Henry  Hunsicker 89 

Letter  from  Christian  Nissley 92,93 

Letter  from  Jacob  Hostetter 94 

Letter  from  Henry  Kolb 97 

Musser's  reason  for  writing  his  severe  Accusations  against 

the  Old  Mennonite  Church 19,  20,  192 

Martyr's  Mirror,  Publication  of 38 

No  Children  of  God  under  the  Old  Dispensation 151 

New    Birth 156 

Preface 3 

Pennypacker,  Bishop  Matthias 125 

Reason  for  writing  this  Work 5 

Rohrer,  Bishop  Abraham 123 

Slander 22 

Stauffer,  Jacob 39,  120,  19Y 

Self-Kxaltation 181 

Teachings  of  the  Church   from  1760  to  1840 84 

Testimonies  from  various  Persons 103 — 117 

Testimony  of  S.  W.  Pennypacker 124 

Testimony  of  Menno  Simon 141 

The  Old  Church  in  Skippack 128 

Transgression  of  Adam  and  Eve 140 

Visit  of  Benjamin  and  Amos  Herr,  to  D.  Musser 170 

We  should  not  seek  to  degrade  our   Neighbor   for   the 

purpose  of  exalting  ourselves 25 


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